Civics and Service International (CSI) wants to forge a partnership with like-minded Donors/partners in order to massively produce the civics text book that is currently being taught in few junior and senior high schools across the country.
Making the call recently during a brief remark at the Joint Education Sector Review Conference, which was held in Ganta, Nimba with the theme, “Transformation Education, the Fulcrum for National Development, Mr. Otis S. Bundor, Country Director, CSI said it was very expedient that the civic textbook that his organization, working along the Ministry of Education and others produced, can be mass- published and be placed in the libraries and in the hands of every junior and senior high schools, especially the public schools.
“Now the civics textbooks for secondary schools, LAW+YOU: Rights and Responsibilities of Liberian Citizen are in the Minister’s Office and what has been one of his challenges is how we can get them printed in mass,” Bundor said.
“We talk about civics, we are going to elections and people are going to be voting, all need to be done to reduce the invalid votes,” he stated; adding that citizens need to be thought more about their rights and responsibilities to the state.
In a separate interview, Mr. Bundor says that it will cost the minimum of $300.00 to get a set in a school. “ It is important to learn from the head of the West African Examination Council, Mr. Dale Gbotoe that Civics will be one of the mandatory subjects for student to passed the WASSCE. Based on our research, we intend to give at least 2 sets of the civic textbooks comprising 6 copies of the students’ textbooks for junior and senior high and 2 teacher guides. According to the publisher, Star Longman, a high quality set will cost at least US$300.00”.
Sometime last year, Bundor told this newspaper when the book was launched: “Today’s launching exercise of the LAW+YOU – Rights and Responsibilities of Liberian Citizen shows that with collective efforts, Liberians can do better. This has been a dream for many of us especially the President and Founder of Civics and Service International – Madam Tenneh Johnson Kemah. The vision of CSI is to realize a Liberia where children are empowered with the knowledge to grow up having a higher self-esteem and be able to engage in respectful debate, advocacy and action, holding their government accountable while maintaining a love for their nation,” he enthused.
About the Text Book
The civics textbook that the CSI Country Director is talking about is the “LAW+YOU – Rights and Responsibilities of the Liberian Citizen.” It is being taught in some junior and senior schools.
Civics returned to the classroom this academic year 2022/2023, more than three decades since it was officially taught in Liberian schools.
The return of this vital subject that is aimed at enlightening Liberian students on their rights, responsibilities, and others was done under the auspices of the Civics and Service International (CSI), formerly Child Steps International.
“Civics is one of the leading fields in building a nation’s democracy. According to the LAW+YOU Civic textbook- Rights and Responsibilities of Liberian Citizen, Civics is considered as the study of the rights of citizens and their responsibilities to each other and their government. This also entails love for their country and a passion to develop a wholesome functional society,” according to CSI.
The release of the book was the culmination of more than seven years of work, developing and testing the curriculum, writing the textbook content, piloting the program in schools, as well as training school administrators and teachers in partnership with the Liberian Ministry of Education. The curriculum was initially developed and piloted. CSI also worked directly with the Ministry of Education to train more than 100 school administrators and teachers.
The civics book, which is tailored at every grade level — from junior to senior high school — was written by 20 accomplished authors, including Americans and Liberians.
In 2013, Civics and Service International (CSI) conducted an assessment with communities, civil servants, and schools and realized that most Liberians do not understand what it takes to be a citizen- responsibilities and rights. For example, it was common to hear citizens asserting that the country should be sold, and the money distributed among them.
CSI said the main essence of civic education is to provide sustainable constitutional democracy- human rights, conflict prevention and resolution, the role of citizens, vibrant self-esteem, etc. Liberia as Africa’s oldest independent nation, a country from a brutal civil war with many people still traumatized and school-going kids growing up without knowing their rights and responsibilities, CSI saw the need to write civic textbooks considering Liberia’s cultural context.
