The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) has announced plans to audit the academic credentials of faculty members across higher educational institutions in Liberia.
According to information, the evaluation will commence anytime soon with the University of Liberia, followed by Cuttington University and all other higher learning institutions in Liberia.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information, Culture Affairs, and Tourism Regular press briefing on Tuesday, July 9, the Director General of the NCHE, Edward Lama Wonkeryor, revealed that during the Weah-led administration, a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Finance concerning this matter.
Upon receiving an invitation, the former Finance Minister Samuel Tweh, requested a proposal to secure funding for the initiative.
Director Wonkeryor disclosed that since then he and his team had been working diligently to submit the required documents, despite their efforts, the requested funding of US$2,600 was never allocated.
The Director General emphasized that the administration of President Boakai has shown renewed interest in higher education by increasing their budget from US$ 400, 000 to over US$ 1 million.
“With these resources at our disposal, the NCHE is now implementing mechanisms to effectively carry out the credential verification process. We plan to launch the evaluation soon as it is now fully funded by taxpayers,” he noted
Their primary objective is to verify the credentials of the faculty and educators who claim academic degrees they do not possess with the aim removing fake degrees from Liberian universities to ensure quality education that can compete regionally.
He assured that the NCHE will execute the President’s mandate without bias, using the available resources effectively noting, “Any individual found misrepresenting their academic qualifications will face consequences, including potential legal action.”
Mr. Wonkeryor revealed that the NCHE is actively working to convene a stakeholders’ conference involving all higher learning institutions, including colleges and universities, to standardize curricula.
This conference aims to bring together institution heads, policymakers, and government officials to discuss higher education dimensions and synchronize curricula effectively.
Moreover, he announced the successful standardization of health sciences curricula in the sub-region and plans to present this to heads of state for approval.
Wonkeryor emphasized the goal of harmonizing curricula from different institutions to facilitate seamless course transfers between universities adding, “If a student completes courses at the University of Liberia and seeks transfer to a different university, the requirements that the student has fulfilled should not be disregarded.”
