Monrovia, Liberia – With effort to achieve changes at the University of Liberia, student political groups have been strongly cautioned by Dr. Layli Maparyan, the university’s president, to refrain from breaching and interfering with regular lectures. Instead than disturbing lectures, causing property damage, or hurting peaceful students, she said that universities are places where students go to learn, interact with political organizations, and develop their political viewpoints.
She noted that some youngsters violent behavior is a result of their lack of maturity and self-control. Dr. Layli Maparyan made these remarks during a news conference on Wednesday at the main campus of the University of Liberia.
Dr. Maparyan’s remarks coincide with mounting student agitation demanding the university’s management bring back the “add and drop” feature on the e-portal. The Progress Student Alliance (PROSA) and the campus-based Student Unification Party (SUP) have spearheaded many demonstrations calling for changes at the state-run university.
They said that their actions stemmed from the administration’s inability to resolve important campus concerns, such as reintroducing the “add and drop” option, which would have allowed students to arrange their classes.
The UL President insisted that the “add and drop” button would not be reopened because her leadership aims to preserve the University’s professional and ethical standards in spite of growing student demand.
“Having rules and principles is important, thus I don’t want to revisit the add and drop button. If we keep changing things because of protest, people won’t take our university serious,” she remarked.
The president of the University of Liberia’s critical position in the face of students’ continuous protests highlights her goal and ambition for systemic change at the country’s top university.
“I do not believe higher education is a place for students to be involved in destruction, rioting, or violence,” said Dr. Maparyan.
The University of Liberia has had significant difficulties for over a decade, such as a lack of sufficient seats, a poor classroom atmosphere, suspected corruption, and a shortage of buses for student transportation, among other issues. During her inauguration address, Dr. Layli Maparyan pledged to solve these fundamental problems.
