
Barely three weeks to the official reopening of schools for Academic Year 2021-2022, the National Teachers Association of Liberia (NTAL) has praised the Government for catering to the welfare of teachers in the country.
NTAL Vice President, Mr. James S. Miller, disclosed that some teachers who were volunteers have been put on government payroll, thereby fully employing them.
Mr. Miller noted that even though the problem with having volunteer teachers in the classroom still exists, having some of them employed by government is a major boost for the country’s education sector.
He assured that the National Teachers Association of Liberia will continue to engage government constructively through advocacy in the interest of teachers in the country.
Speaking in Gbarnga Tuesday during the official celebration of World Teachers Day, the NTAL Vice President described teachers as “nation builders,” noting that teachers are not “poor people as some Liberians think.”
Mr. Miller made specific reference to Jesus Christ who, he said, was “a great teacher,” adding that teachers are the ones who nourish wisdom as they mold the minds of future leaders.
Miller called on parents as well as education stakeholders in the country to keep motivating teachers by encouraging them to regard the teaching profession as a calling and vocation.
Meanwhile, several parents, including a prominent citizen who is also the spokesperson for the visually impaired in Bong County, Lawrence Tokpa, lauded the efforts of teachers, and admonished them to feel motivated as government strives to improve the school system.
Speaking recently in Gbarnga, the Chair of the House Committee on Education and Public Administration, Madam Mayamum Beyan Fofana, who is also the Representative of Lofa County District#4, admonished parents to take charge of their children’s education.
Representative Fofana indicated that even though it is government’s responsibility to educate its citizens, government alone cannot do it all for the citizenry.
She made the assertion at a program marking the petitioning ceremony of the National Legislature by the National Parents, Teachers Association of Liberia aimed at providing support to that body.
In 1966, a special Intergovernmental meeting accepted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendation on the status of teachers.
It adopted the idea that countries universally acknowledge the significance of having competent, qualified and motivated teachers in society.