Bondiway, Margibi County – In the heart of Firestone Liberia, between Divisions 2 and 3, sits Bondiway Public School—one of the oldest government-run schools in Margibi County, established in 1963. Once a beacon of learning, the school has now become a symbol of neglect, as more than 200 children struggle daily in conditions residents describe as “shameful and unfit for education.”
By Howison A. Woah, Contributing Writer
A tour of the school revealed leaking roofs, broken chairs, damaged floors, overcrowded classrooms, and buildings left unpainted for years. “When it rains, the elementary section has no classes at all,” said Principal Benjamin Owah. “This entire rainy season, we spent time bailing water out of classrooms or sending students home. Sometimes, they didn’t even come because the school was flooded. It is heartbreaking.”
The school operates with 17 teachers—10 of them volunteers and only 7 on government payroll. This imbalance means that most of the staff work without salaries, struggling to keep the institution afloat from Nursery through Junior High.
Inside classrooms, dozens of students cram together on cracked benches, while others sit on cement walls or bare floors. Some teachers stand all day for lack of chairs. Partition walls have collapsed, forcing multiple classes to be combined in single overcrowded spaces.
A Long List of Problems
Bondiway’s problems include leaking roofs and flooding classrooms during every rainfall, acute shortage of seating capacity for both students and staff, overcrowded and combined classes due to collapsed partitions, damaged floors posing safety risks to students and teachers, and uildings unpainted and poorly maintained for years.
Authorities Acknowledge, But No Action
Mamba Kaba District Education Officer (DEO), Adolphus Dahnson, admitted the terrible state of the school but said they are still “exhausting efforts” with government and partners.
“Firestone did an assessment this year, and Senator [Emmanuel] Nuquay sent a team to do the BOQ, which was forwarded to the Ministry of Education. But we are yet to see results,” he told FrontPage Africa. “The school needs a new roof, ceiling, floors, and chairs—urgent redress, not just minor renovations.”
His comments, however, have angered residents, who accuse officials of making endless assessments without delivering results. According to them, the school has been in disrepair since 2018, with countless promises but no meaningful intervention.
Residents Lose Patience
“This is suppression and abandonment,” said one parent. “Every year they come, write reports, and leave. Our children are suffering while officials buy expensive cars and take foreign trips.”
Parents now fear that many students will drop out if conditions remain the same. They argue that the ARREST Agenda of President Joseph Boakai and his administration’s promises of prioritizing education are being undermined by the reality on the ground.
A National Disgrace
For now, Bondiway Public School remains a national embarrassment—a government school where children are forced to learn in conditions unfit even for warehouses. Residents say unless urgent action is taken by the Ministry of Education and Margibi County authorities, the school risks not only losing its infrastructure but also jeopardizing the future of an entire generation.
Despite assessments by Firestone Liberia and a team dispatched by Senator Nuquay, which submitted a BOQ to the Ministry of Education, no renovation has been carried out. Staff say the conditions have persisted since at least 2018, with no hope in sight.
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