Bong County Senator Prince K. Moye has said that Liberia as a country is experiencing the most difficult troubling times in its 200 years of existence, mentioning that peace and tranquility do not just signal the absence of the sound of guns but it is also the willingness of the state and non-state actors to uphold justice and the rule of law, and at the same time ensuring the equitability distribution of national worth and resources.
Delivering a driving keynote at the Carver Christian University 21st Commencement Convocation on July 13, 2022, in the King Gray Community, Senator Moye said when a segment of the population feels marginalized, ordinary people lack access to basic social services, such as quality education and health care, electricity and safe drinking water and dignify employment opportunities while the few at the top swim in the pool of wealth supposedly drawn from the cover of the state than the nation have to be concerned.
“Under such circumstances, the marginalized and the disadvantaged segment of the population becomes unjustifiably disenchanted and our state of affairs of the country becomes volatile and unpredictable. What matter is not the silence but the courage to awake and echo our collective voices on behalf of the abandoned, the marginalized, and downtrodden. We must do so in an apologetic way and with a resounding voice knowing that everyone else has many claims to this country as we do.”
According to the Chairman Senate Committee on Education and Public Administration, the collapse of the nation’s education system is tantamount to the destruction of said nation, adding that one doesn’t necessarily need missiles or heavy artillery to destroy a nation, indicating that one only needs to render the education system corrupt, messy and fraudulent in other to destroy a nation. Such an education system produces teachers that are inept, patients die at the hands of incompetent doctors and nurses produced by that system.
He said judges educated in that system hand down unfair and controversial rulings. Infrastructure collapsed due to the incompetence of engineers who were schooled in such a system. And sadly corruption disorderliness and disregard for human dignity becomes the order of the day, such as the hallmarks of a destitute and broken education system. Therefore, he told the audience, “If we seek to build a nation and a vibrant society we must all work together with sincerity and commitment to transform the education system of the country.”
The Bong County Lawmaker said legislators must act laws that prioritize standardized practices in the general performances of various actors in the education system, pointing out that the Ministry of Education must ensure the implementation of such laws and regulations, university administrators must conduct the face of their institutions in a way and manner that the whole standard and best academic practices, schools must collect fees only for services they provide, professors and lecturers must focus on the academic progress and social development of their individual students, and not exchange grades for sex or money.
“All efforts to transform the education system must be concerted and well coordinated with all actors glaringly understanding their responsibility and taking the necessary actions. By so doing, you will inch closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal #4 which stresses the need for quality equitable education and lifelong learning opportunities for all”, Senator Moye further said.
However, he narrated that in all fairness the attainment of SDG #4 remains just a dream for Liberia, stating that the long-standing impasse of the devastating war compounded by the closure of schools during the Ebola Virus Disease in 2014 and 2015 and the Coronavirus in 2020 and 2021 continue to take a tour on the country’s fragile education system.
Speaking further he said in spite of all these the country will not give up on the mandate that history has assigned to it, saying “We will press on until we achieve for the good of our nation.”
He Outlined that some significant strives have been made since taking over as Chairman Senate Committee on Education and Public Administration and some of which include the establishment of the joint Education Committee Secretariat to monitor, validate, verify and ensure compliance and accountability in the various performances within the education system.
Furthermore, he said joining the Ministry of Education and other educational stakeholders for the Joint Education Sector Review which provided a clear direction for the development of an education sector plan for the next five years, leveraging the Senate’s influence to ensure the allocation of additional resources in the 2022 National Budget for the hiring of volunteer teachers to fill many vacant classrooms across public schools. He added that about 600 volunteer teachers are already been enrolled on the Ministry of Education payroll as a consequence of this effort.
Additionally, he mentioned that the Senate worked with the Ministry of Education and partners to purchase vehicles for County Education Officers and motorbikes for Monitoring and Evaluation Officers and District Education Officers increasing monitoring and supervision in the school system and generating improved learning outcomes.
Also, Mr. Moye said that overseeing the planning of an education budgeting of finance dialogue for members of the Education and Ways Means Finance Budget Committee at the Senate and the House of Representatives an event that was sponsored and facilitated by the UNICEF Liberia Office.
Gracing the occasion of the National PTA Network Retreat in Gbarnga and giving the Senate commitment and support to work in helping to identify and respond to the needs of schools through monitoring and supervision, saying be assured of our continued commitment to working with all stakeholders in creating a platform for sustainable growth of the education sector.
Reported by: Stephen G. Fellajuah
WhatApp: +231777015294
Email: fellajuahstepheng@gmail.com
