Liberia: PTA Seeks Collaboration With MoE

The National Parents-Teachers Association of Liberia (PTA) has accused the Ministry of Education of not cooperating in implementing the educational policy of the country.

According to the PTA, the ministry should involve all stakeholders in discussing education matters before deriving national policy, but this is not happening.

Speaking to Freedom FM on Thursday, 20 October in Monrovia the president of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Liberia, J. Mason Saweh said the ministry cannot do it alone because it calls partnership.

According to him, when it comes to monitoring the sector, stakeholders should be actively involved, noting that how can the Ministry of Education be running schools and then monitor it herself.

Liberia’s Minister of Education D. Ansu Sonii, runs a private school, something that continues to receive public criticism.

Mr. Saweh argues that the role of the ministry is to regulate the educational sector, and not to run school.

He claims the ministry is not willing to cooperate with stakeholders that should be making education better in Liberia.

“We want to see education better and transformed in this country and the Ministry of Education alone cannot do it”, he reiterates, adding that the ministry in its decision making should work side by side with the PTA.

The vice president of the Association, Edwin Sherman thinks the reason behind this posture by the ministry is that it is against advocacy by the PTA, noting that they are advocating for the true meaning of the educational sector of Liberia.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sherman says the hiking of school fees across the country is being done without the involvement or consultation of the PTA.

He says the objective of school administrators is to not let the public know why fees and tuition are being increased astronomically.

“They don’t want tomorrow parents saying that the PTA is not working.”

He also frowns on the transfer of MobileMoney to the ministry, noting that a minimum fee of 10 Liberian dollars was collected in public schools throughout the country to get children off the streets into the classroom, but for the past two years, there has been no accountability for the money that is going to the Ministry of Education.

Source:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *