Monrovia – Over 200 young people led by the Youth Coalition for Education in Liberia YOCEL representing various youth and women groups gathered at the Capitol building on September 13, 2018 to petition their lawmakers to see season to increase the budget to Education by 20%, the campaign started with a street march which began from 12st street onward to the Capitol building.
Reading the petition Ballah Flomo Saywala Chairman of a local Child protection group the Right Holders Network provided some statistics of countries in Africa that have made some significant strive through budgetary allocation toward education indicating that Liberia spends the lowest in West Africa on education through their national budget, Liberia 14.7%; while other African countries spend: South Africa – 19 %, Sierra Leone – 20 %, Niger – 21 %, Swaziland – 24 %, Senegal – 24 %, Ethiopia – 27 %, Zimbabwe – 30%, Ghana – 33% and Guinea 19%;
Ballah Saywala reading the petition on behalf of the More4Education team outlines the following in their petition;
They recommended to the lawmakers that moving forward 60% of all signatures fees from every concession that will be signed should go directly toward education in accordance with the Education Reform of 2011
Technical and Vocational Education should be taught at all public senior secondary school across the country
The national student loan program should be introduced across the country
The government of Liberia should increase the subsidy to a private institution
The Legislature should Prevail on the Ministry of Education to strengthen their Monitoring and supervision on all school across the country
Ensure that the country is full compliance with all international protocols that speaks directly toward education.
Increase the tax breaks on alcoholic beverages; tobacco to fund education
Receiving the petition the honorable chair on the Committee on claims and petition Hon. Rustonlyn Suacoco Dennis stressed that she was very delighted and overwhelmed to see young people coming at the capitol building, not for political reasons but to petition their lawmakers to allocate more funding to education and reminding them of some legal instruments that speak directly to education financings in closing she assured the campaigners that she is recommitted to their advocacy and pledge her unflinching support to YOCEL and promise to present the petition to the speaker and will insured that it is placed on the agenda and read in plenary.
Speaking to our reporter later the senior program manager of YOCEL Matthew S. Karley II extolled the USAID for providing the funding through the Liberia Accountability Voices Initiative – LAVI for giving them the support and expressed that this was just a maiden approach toward a sustainable advocacy engagement.