By Bill W. Cooper
The plenary of the Liberian Senate, over the weekend, erupted in chaos over a proposed free tuition policy bill that divided the lawmakers and stirred up a heated debate during the Senators’ regular session, preventing the passage of the bill.
The bill aims to provide free education for all Liberian students at public universities and colleges, as well as the payment of WASSCE for both 12th and 9th graders across the country.
The scene at the Senate chamber on Thursday, November 30, 2023, was nothing short of dramatic, as senators engaged in a frantic exchange of words, punctuated by passionate outbursts and shouting.
The normally composed and respectful atmosphere of the Senate gave way to a raucous display, as senators openly expressed their disapproval of, and agreement with, the proposed legislation.
Senators in favor of the speedy passage of the bill are Gble-bo Brown, Nyumene Bartekwa, Simeo Taylor, Joseph Jallah, and Augustine Chea.
While those calling for the reserving of the bill until further scrutiny, are Senators Jonathan Boy Charles Singbe, Abraham Darius Dillon, Botoe Kanneh, James Biney, Edwin Snowe, Conmany Wesseh, and Emmanuel Nuquay.
It can be recalled that the Plenary of the House of Representatives, in 2021, passed and forwarded to the Liberian Senate for concurrence, the bill seeking to create a special educational scheme.
The Act is titled “A special Education Fund To support and sustain the tuition-free scheme for the University of Liberia and all public universities and colleges, and the free WASSCE fees for 12th and 9th graders across the country.
The proposed bill was however triggered after President George M. Weah, on Wednesday, October 24, declared tuition-free education at the undergraduate level for all public universities across the country.
The bill, intended to promote the empowerment and development of the young people of Liberia through easy access to higher education, was submitted to the House by Montserrado County District 5 Representative, Thomas Fallah.
The House Committees further believe that the proposed bill will serve as an impetus for students to seek a college education without worrying about the high cost of college education.
But since then, the instrument has been with Senate’s Education, Ways, Means, Finance, and Development Planning committees, tasked to review the bill and advise the plenary of the Senate.
Furthermore, the bill has been at the Legislature for more than three years, with no action taken, thus leaving the Senate to resolve into a committee of a whole to discuss the way forward.
During the Senate’s deliberation, Senators Singbe, Dillon, Kanneh, Biney, Snowe, Wesseh, and Nuquay, who believe there is no rush for the passage of the bill, further stressed that the bill needs more work, on grounds that there has been no fiscal analysis done to determine the cost of such an initiative.
According to them, they are also of the belief that concurring with the House of Representatives on this bill is an attempt to transfer liability to the incoming Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s administration, whose education policy might be different from Weah’s.
The Senators, at the same time, asked the committee, chaired by Bong County Senator, Prince Moye, and Sen. Morris Saytumah of Bomi, who chairs the Senate’s Ways, Means, and Finance Committee, to conduct a more in-depth analysis about the bill.
They added that the committee should also provide a fiscal impact analysis, adding, “Because as it stands, this bill is only calling for the legitimization of what has been described by the CDC government as a President Weah initiative, even though it has been funded through the national budget.”
Meanwhile, the likes of Sens. Brown, Bartekwa, Taylor, Jallah, and Chea, all believe that the bill is overdue, and as such, there is a need for its passage because it has been too long in the corridors of the Legislature.
The Senators, in their argument, explained that for more than three years, the CDC government has paid tuition for students in public universities and colleges and made WASSCE for senior high schools free, so there should be no more excuse(s).
Meanwhile, following the intense deliberation, Senate Pro-Tempore, Albert Chie, then constituted a committee, headed by Senator Augustine Chea, with Simon Taylor and Gble-bo Brown as members, to engage educational stakeholders and report Tuesday.
As the heated debates continue, Liberian colleges and universities, including high school students, eagerly await the outcome of the Senators’ decision, as it remains to be seen whether the Senate can find common ground for the benefit of the country’s students.
