By Precious D. Freeman
The president of the Abundant Life International School of Ministries (ALISM), Alphonso Korleh has described the educational system in Liberia as fundamentally flawed, for producing graduates who struggle with basic literacy and communication skills.
He accused the government of neglecting the quality of education, criticizing the poor level of School Quality Assessment (SQA) supervision and the maintenance of unworthy institutions.
“These things are not grabbed by leadership. They only want the votes but they don’t know that working on human capital is the greatest thing to develop this country. We can’t fix this nation unless we fix education,” Rev. Korleh stated.
He called for an urgent overhaul of the national curriculum to align with global standards and the incorporation of Technology and Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET).
“Our classrooms still struggle to get reading books and textbooks. The lack of visual learning aids is a problem. The vast majority of our students after high school end up becoming unskilled workers, unprepared for the job market due to the lack of basic computer literacy training,” he said.
Rev. Korleh identified overcrowded classrooms, over-aged students, untrained teachers, and the absence of TVET as pressing issues needing immediate attention and warned that the lack of skilled labor is allowing foreigners to take jobs and opportunities from Liberians.
Rev. Korleh then recommended measures to be put in place by the government and educational stakeholders aimed at improving the sector.
He wants the government to create a forum for ongoing discussion of educational issues nationwide, and prioritize education reform to create more opportunities for young people to study education, providing subsidies to credible colleges and universities with teacher education programs.
He further recommended the establishment of a task force for education reform to support the Ministry of Education’s efforts, a national committee to revise the national curriculum through a collaborative effort of major education actors, and increased monitoring and supervision of schools in every county.
He also recommending that the government sponsors and sustains capacity-building training for teachers nationwide.
