Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has praised the Ministry of Education (MoE) for the gains made over the years in ensuring a better education system in the country.
In her remarks at the opening of the Ministry of Education Joint Education Sector Review (JESR) in Ganta on Monday, Madam Taylor said the Ministry along with its partners has made tremendous efforts in improving the education sector of Liberia.
She cited, among others, the construction and renovation of multiple schools across the country, the provision of educational and instructional materials to public schools, employment and placing on payroll of over 1,500 new public school teachers, provision of local and foreign scholarships for Liberian students and some educators.
She also named renovation and equipping of several Technical Vocational Education and Training Centers across the country.
All these, VP Taylor noted, are positively impacting the nation in general in terms of providing education to the youth.
The Liberian Vice President has, at the same time, charged education actors to do more to further improve the system.
“You will agree with me that 2023 is a defining year in our nation’s history, but this moment can be a highlighted one if each of us do our best to listen, learn, and adjust our behavior and live in peace.
“This is an example of education at its best,” the Liberian VP said to the gathering.
Vice President Taylor pointed out that education is the master key to the delivery of better national plans and programs.
“Let me state that with the gains that have been achieved in education under this government, and the clear roadmap which has been laid, it is with all certainty that if this trajectory is scrupulously followed holistically, education will be the underlying factor for the transformation of Liberia at all levels,” the Liberian Vice President stressed.
VP Taylor praised the Government of Liberia under the stewardship of President George Manneh Weah for its commitment to ensuring the fulfillment of all its educational deliverables and programs, some of which, she identified as the President’s flagship Free WASSCE, TUITION-FREE for public universities, and college programs that are continuing uninterrupted.
Quoting the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, VP Howard-Taylor recalled the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic which negatively impacted the world as it forced over 1.5 billion pupils to drop out of school, thus impacting more than 87% of the world’s enrolled learners.
In her closing remarks, Vice President Howard-Taylor noted that to be successful and able to grasp the rare opportunities that lie ahead, actors of the education sector must rethink the way they teach, use of curriculum, the need for new-age infrastructures and digital portals, the approach to gender equality and national equity.
