Report on the Regulatory Environment in Liberia

Date: December 2012

Introduction

Private schools in Liberia are required to register with the Government, and registration has come from the Ministry of Education through the County Education Office (CEO) and the District Education Office (DEO).The registration document is called an Operational Permit or Permit to Operate and, in the past, has been valid for 3 years and cost about LB$3000 or LB$4000 depending on the level of the school.

There are various steps that a school has needed to follow in order to obtain this permit (see Appendix 1). However the process has not always been well known or clear; one principal of a school that has been functioning for at least 2 years has only now found this form and the list of requirements. Another has been trying for a permit for 5 years, so far without success. He has had three official visits from the DEO but no feedback communication from them or explanation for the delay in granting the permit.

The Main Regulations as seen by the Principals

The main requirements, expressed by the principals who were interviewed, centred on the type of building, the qualifications of the teachers, the fees for registration and the amount of money that needs to be in a bank account. These key areas of regulation were confirmed by subsequent visits to the DEO and the Ministry of Education.

The buildings need to be purpose built. This means that schools cannot operate out of church buildings. Despite this regulation many clearly do so. Some may get round the rules by having a number of classrooms off to the side of the actual church building, with the sanctuary used only for some classes1. There are many schools like this, some of which do have permits.

The teachers all need to be trained and qualified, with different levels of qualification required for teachers at different school levels. This was another requirement that is not being fully met by some of the private schools or indeed by the government schools. One principal pointed out that if the government schools cannot have “all trained teachers” how can that be expected of the private schools.

Interviewer: How do you manage when you have to fill in the [teachers’] qualifications, when some are not qualified?

Principal: Ok. I have to be honest. Those who are trained, you list their names. Those who have not been trained but they have another qualification, maybe a high school graduate, maybe attending college; you mention that. Those who are attending college, you photocopy their control sheet for that years and

1 The DEO and Acting director of CEACL both acknowledged this situation.

attach it to the form so that the DEO can see that though they are untrained teachers but they have certain qualities and education.

Of course, but the government too is facing problems…. So the government too is finding it difficult to get all teachers trained, so just like private institutions.

The problem of finding sufficiently qualified, trained teachers appears to extend across the education system. An MP who has set up his own junior high school in a peri-urban area of Monrovia is running his school with some qualified teachers (with B certificates) while he also employs untrained college students.

Principals expressed concern at the increase in the costs of the operational permit (from LB$4,000 to LB$10,000). It did not appear that any school principal interviewed in the research was aware that the Operational Permits were now to be valid for only 1 year (according to the DEO) or 2 years (according to the director of CEACL) instead of 3 years formerly. Thus the cost of the permits appears to have recently gone up by somewhere between about 300 and 600%.

Maintaining a bank balance of over LB$205,000 (when the priorities of the management were the development of the school and the cash to pay the teachers’ salaries each month) was regarded an unnecessary and distracting burden.

Regulations and the DEO

On one side the DEOs appeared to take a pragmatic approach, seeking to encourage schools to start and to operate, while at the same time looking to see standards improve and the schools meeting the regulations. Examples of this are the way that they had written letters to banks to ask them to allow the proposed schools to open accounts (this was needed because the banks would not allow the school to open an account until the school was registered and the school could not be registered without a bank account) (see Appendix 3). Also they had granted a “Grace Period” during which time the school could operate without fully meeting the requirements (see Appendix 4 and Appendix 5). This type of flexibility was confirmed in other interviews with principals and the DEO himself, but whether the sought-after changes and improvements were forthcoming from the schools is in doubt in some cases.

The letter in Appendix 5 is revealing in two different ways. The tenor of the letter is supportive, confirming the recognition of the school even though no Operational Permit has been granted; the goal of the DEO is explicitly stated in the last paragraph

We ardently hope that this document will serve the purpose as we strive to increase access and ensure quality and refined education in Liberia.

This is encouraging in that at least some of these DEOs appear to want these private schools to function and see them as a valuable part of the educational scene, providing access, quality and refinement in education in Monrovia.

The earlier paragraph, however, outlines the reason for the delay in giving the Operational Permit.

The above mentioned school has been assessed and is registered with the Ministry of Education and is awaiting operational permit. The delay of the issuance of said permit is predicated upon the fact that the Ministry has a Moratorium on the processing of school permits while she reviews the procedure leading to permit issuance.

No permits had been issued for the previous 18 months as a new Education Act had been passed in August 2011 and a new ‘Center for Educational Accreditation, Certification and Licensing’ (CEACL) established.

An interview with the DOE initially gave a more structured and tighter outline of the process of registration, beginning with the requirement that a concept paper be submitted to the Ministry of Education together with letter of application. The applicant would then need to fill out a form with the data required by the Ministry. This would be followed by a visit from the Ministry to the site to view, inspect and evaluate the facilities and structure where the school is planned to make sure that the requirements are in place. When the ministry is satisfied with the facilities and structures (like the library and laboratory) as well as the credentials of the personnel etc. they will grant a probationary status for a semester or a year. The Ministry will then monitor the instructional aspects for the year before doing another round of assessments based on what the school is doing, with a view to granting the official permit for a year, or maybe up to 3 years.

The DEO acknowledged a more flexible attitude when a church or individual was responding to the call and the needs of the community. He indicated that there is scope for a school to operate without everything in place, for example not having all trained teachers or slightly substandard facilities. Then those running the school would use the fees or other resources to improve the school structure and facilities and also access in-service training run by the government or NGOs. They would be operating without a permit and with only a “letter of attestation”. This letter would help the school, showing it is known to the Ministry and working with them, until it reached the required standard and completed the process, leading to an official permit. In this way registration is seen as a process over a period of time as the school moves towards completion and full recognition. The DEO was also concerned about the content of the education; to see that the children were being taught and benefitting from the education, when this was happening there was a willingness to allow time for the structures to come up to the standard.

Not all principals found all aspects of the DEO’s work so helpful. One school owner, who has been operating for 4 to 5 years, has 900 children in the school and is also seeking to start a tertiary institute, has been trying for 4 to 5 years to obtain a permit. He has called the DEO to come and inspect the school and grant the permit and has paid the “inspection fee” three times, each time without being given a receipt. He has not been given any explanation as to why the permit has not been granted.

Government claims to be interested in education; they are giving permits for bars and nightclubs to operate and they cannot give schools permits to operate, that seems regrettable to me.

In fact his school has been given permission to enter students for the WAEC exams but still is not officially allowed to operate as a school in Monrovia. He was clearly frustrated at the system.

Getting a permit has become a Herculus (sic) task now.

But without a permit we are still surviving, we are still educating and we are still contributing to society. But I think it should be better for me to have a permit; as a recognised institution, I can seek extra funding and encourage other people to come on joint-venture.

I am also recognised that I am contributing to society. With a permit, my teachers are appreciated.

Without a permit:

You are always threatened, legally, because you do not have a permit. [He told of a visit when the DEO was in for other business and threatened to fine him for not having a permit.] They ask for your permit and we don’t have one, so they say that they will charge you $100 (or $1000) per day for the time that you have not had a permit. It doesn’t make sense. [They] are the ones who cause the issue of permits.

So not having a permit was of most significance to the school administration, not the students or parents or even the staff who would not necessarily know if a school had a permit or not.

The Impact of Government Practice on Private Schools

Recently the government has significantly improved the salary of their teachers. The DEO said that this brought the government teachers’ salaries from below those of the private schools to above them, causing a brain drain from private to government schools. He felt that some private schools would lose their most qualified teachers and so be forced to downgrade from senior high school to junior high school and then to primary school. He indicated that the government could not accommodate all the teachers who were applying and so it was pressuring the private schools to increase the salaries of their teachers, acknowledging, at the same time, that this would result in increased fees and so take these schools out of reach of the poor. This concern was also expressed by one of the principals as he attempted to increase the quality of his teaching staff and grow his school.

The government makes a subsidy to some of the established church schools, such as the Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and the Assemblies of God School Systems. The amount of subsidy is generally small; the DEO agrees with the leader of the Assemblies of God educational department that the subsidy can in fact be less than the cost of the operational permits2. So even the schools with a subsidy from the government can be net contributors to the Ministry of Education through the permit fees they pay. Though all schools are potentially entitled to subsidy, the government does not have the funds and so is not offering any subsidy to private proprietor schools; it has cut the subsidy to even these church school systems. Community schools or communities that lobby are more likely to be granted these subsidies, or others in the form of the payment of teachers’ salaries.

2 The Assemblies of God School System gets a subsidy of about LB$ 2,600 per school per year and pays LB$10,000 per school for its permits which last 1 or 2 years.

The New Education Act and the CEACL

Since the new Education Act, passed in August 2011, the situation has been changing for the educational sector in Liberia. These changes have not yet filtered down to all the schools, though some are aware of the implications of some of them3. Even the DEOs appear unclear about aspects of the new system.

Accreditation is becoming a centralized process, despite the claim that education is being decentralised by the Act4. The Center for Educational Accreditation, Certification and Licensing (CEACL) is responsible, in accordance to the Education Reform Act, for the issuance of permits and certificates for the whole country (Government of Liberia, 2011). The centre has the authority to monitor schools and teachers, to evaluate and license teachers and principals and accredit and classify all schools into Classes A to F according to a wide range of criteria (outlined in Appendix 9).

Discussions with Adolphus B. Jacobs who is Acting Director of the new centre highlighted the fact that the regulations are changing significantly and, as part of that, all private schools will need to reapply for registration.

The Education Act of 2011 (some small sections of which are included on Appendix 8) will impact on the regulation and functioning of private schools across Liberia.

Its requirements concerning the qualification and registration of teachers (Section 6.1, 6.2.1) may be hard to fulfil. Certainly the present situation does not meet these requirements.

The construction of “fields, courts, gyms and other facilities for the promotion of athletics, gymnastics, football, basketball, and other psychological, bodybuilding and skill-development activities” (section 8.10) could prove impossible in the low-cost private sector in the poor, high-density residential / slum areas.

Some principals are likely to be concerned at the statement: “Tuition and fees charged by private and faith-based schools shall be in accordance with the guidelines established by the Ministry” (Section 9.1g), in case the Ministry seeks to impose the level of fees that these schools can set.

In addition to the actual Act, a series of guides have been published. These are the Liberian Education Administrative Guides Volumes 1 to 5 (Ministry of Education, 2011a; Ministry of Education, 2011b). These provide background information about the Education Administrative Regulations. And it may be that these guidelines, that the Centre is placing alongside the new laws, that may prove the most awkward for schools to meet. The way the law is not the sum total of the requirements was expressed by A B Jacobs:

The new law was passed in August last year and from the law the policies were generated. The policies have been written to complement the law.

3 The centralisation of the system had come to the attention of one principal and is a cause for concern to him: “If all schools need to go to one office in the Ministry in the centre of Monrovia, it will make it very difficult for schools in the counties.”

4 This claim was clearly stated in the interview with Rev Grant, one of the nine DEOs in Monrovia.

The law gave the Ministry of Education the latitude to develop policies alongside the law and so that those two policies [two of the booklets] were developed in keeping with the law.

The changes are not going to be “hammered down”, but it was clearly expressed that the constraint was time. The approach appears to be to give schools the regulations, make the requirements clear and plain and allow some time for them to comply while exerting pressure. Those who are not willing to comply will not be allowed to operate.

Some of the policies will be difficult and that is why we are not hammering down everything in a year’s time, because we know that implementing the law is going to take time.

Everything is not going to be 100% but we are driving it as we go. It starts by regulations and enforcing regulations; putting the little things together and we will get there somehow.

Maybe before we did not have the capacity to hold those people accountable, but now we are looking to close all the loopholes and everyone come through the system.

The CEACL is moving towards the licensing of teachers and principals with all teacher required to do in-service training each month in order to qualify for a renewal of their licence when it expires after the stipulated 3 years. Principals also need to do in-service training and a “short course that they need to pass” for their licences to be renewed also after the 3 year term of validity expires (see Appendix 12).

The guidelines also set out the pupil-teacher ratios of 44:1 for Lower Basic Education (Primary), 40:1 for Upper Basic (Junior Secondary) and 30:1 for Senior Secondary.

The Ministry has responsibility for the school calendar. Included in that calendar are the stipulations that classes are held for not less than 5 hours daily and for 5 days a week, for a period of no fewer than 200 teaching days. Each calendar year is divided into 2 semesters, each with a minimum of 100 days. The annual school year consists of 6 marking periods, a number of tests and two semester examinations. The calendar requires that any days missed due to climatic conditions or other reasons must be made up and failure to comply will result in a fine. One principal complained that the calendar for 2012 to 2013 was not available, but it may have been that he had not been able to obtain one, as another school had a copy (see Appendix 13).

The size and type of financial guarantee that is required appears also to be changing. It appeared previously that the schools needed to have a certain specified amount in their own bank account. Now the money is an escrow amount that needs to be paid into a special account of the Ministry of Education (see Appendix 10), putting the funds completely out of reach of the school.

The CEACL aims to tighten things up, to establish norms and standards and to improve quality by putting regulations and structures in place. Then by holding schools to these standards, by requiring these inputs (the quality of the facilities, the levels of the teachers’ and administrators’ qualifications, the extent of the in-service training etc.) there is the expectation that education in Liberia will change for the better. The director of CEACL expressed his goal and vision in this way:

We are trying to make [the system] work. It is difficult; we hope we get the kind of support that we need. If we don’t do that we can’t drive quality in the system. Our system has serious setbacks. The only way we drive quality is to put these little things into place and everybody start thinking about where we are heading. The system is being recalibrated and we expect people to come together, and to begin to understand where we are going and to focus, telling them what are targeted goals are, where we are heading, where we are now. People need to understand where we are and where we need to go.

It is not yet clear what impact the centralisation of the oversight of the education will have on the role of the DEOs or CEOs. It appears that some of their responsibilities have been taken from them, and with that some of the links between what is taking place on the ground and what is required from the Ministry of Education. This may make it even harder for some of the schools to function in the poorer areas.

Certainly the interim period, this time where the school will be allowed to operate while it moves towards full compliance, though openly discussed and used by the DOE, is not on the agenda at the CEACL.

Interviewer:- Prior to obtaining a permit, is there any kind of recognition for a school that is moving towards registration.

Acting-Director:- No. You can start getting the notary documents etc. all the preliminary work, but to start a school where kids are, you have to come to us and get the actual permit.

The CEACL’s response to the situation of many small private schools in cramped conditions in the likes of Westpoint or Doe Community, where there is little room for classrooms let alone football fields, is that more schools need to be built and the children will need to travel out of the area to these new schools.

It may not be the remit of the CEACL to find the funding for these developments, but when asked where it expects the resources for the laboratories or libraries to come from for schools in these areas, the response was that “Some friendly nations will donate”.

The role of the CEACL appears to be to deal with the perceived problems and a repeated refrain in a number of contexts was “We must make sure that the schools have these minimum legal requirements, we can’t let them go unchecked.” The DEOs might have had a different perspective and the best intentions of the school proprietors and the DEOs may yet be obstructed in the months to come.

The CEACL, the DOEs, church leaders and the principals are all looking to see education develop, extend and improve in Liberia, however from what is seen of the regulatory framework it may be hard for these interested parties to work together in the coming years.

The CEACL director’s closing comments may be important. “People need to understand where we are and where we need to go.” It is not clear if the director, recently returned from the US after over a decade there, fully knows “where we are”, though he has a clear sense of where he feels “we need to go”.

He said at the end of the interview, “You can help to tell our story as to what we are trying to achieve.” Maybe this report does some of that.

Conclusion

Many schools in Monrovia are not registered (9.3%) in the census, but probably more 5. The DOEs appear, by and large, to be supportive of those who are involved in starting and running schools while encouraging improvements and compliance with the regulations. In a situation where there are some regulations that are unrealistic or unattainable there is scope for significant problems for those who are trying to run schools and potential for corruption among those who are required to police the system. The brief investigation heard of some of the problems, but did not uncover significant corruption. It found a system where people were generally working together to a common goal. There are definitely significant problems of educational quality (from WAEC results) and a lack of facilities. The old regulations are not being fulfilled; not all schools were registered, not all teachers qualified, not all classroom purpose built, but some education is taking place. It is not clear, yet, if the new Education Act, the new centralised system and the formation of CEACL will solve the problems that do exist or create others.

Research from the Low Cost Private Schools in the World’s Most Difficult Places project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation

Author: David Longfield

5 I visited one school where the principal believed the school to be registered and gave that answer to the researchers. The owner informed me, to the apparent surprise of the principal, that the school had not yet obtained the operational permit.

Appendix 1

(Old information for those applying for an Operational Permit)

Steps leading to obtaining an Operational Permit1. Letter of application to the DEO.2. Assessment report from DOE to County Education Officer.3. Payment voucher received by the County Education Officer, received from the DEO.4. Permit fees paid to the Revenue Office at the Ministry of Finance5. Revenue receipt submitted to the DEO6. Assessment report package (including flag receipt) submitted to the relevant …. Minister for

preparation of Permit Certificate7. Certificate signed by the Deputy Minister for Instruction and approved by the Minister of

Education.8. Permit Certificate received at the Office of the DEO by the applicant.

There is a minimum bank balance required. The size depends on the type of school.

Level Schools charging in Liberian dollars (Figures in LB$)

Schools charging in US dollars(Figures in US$)

EDC $50,000 $1000KG to 6th Grade $75,000 $15001st to 6th $100,000 $16007th to 9th $110,000 $17001st to 9th $125,000 $1800KG to 9th $150,000 $190010th to 12th $175,000 $20007th to 12th $200,000 $25001st to 12th $225,000 $2600KG to 12th $225,000 $2700Vocational and Technical $250,000 $2800

Principal and Teacher Requirements

ECD Teacher “C” Certificate

EDC care-giver High School graduate

Lower Basic (1st to 6th) “C” Certificate

Upper Basic (7th to 9th) “B” Certificate

Secondary BSc

The School Operational Permit is valid for 1 year.

Assessment Fees $1000

Permit Fees

Level Schools charging in Liberian dollars (Figures in LB$)

Schools charging in US dollars(Figures in US$)

EDC $4,000 $100KG to 6th Grade $5,000 $1251st to 6th $5,500 $1507th to 9th $6,000 $1751st to 9th $6,500 $200KG to 9th $7,000 $22510th to 12th $7,500 $2507th to 12th $8,500 $2751st to 12th $9,500 $300KG to 12th $10,000 $325Vocational and Technical $11,000 $375

Assessment Form

1. Name2. Type3. Address4. Contact5. Mobile6. County7. Level

Personnel

8. Level9. Name of Principal10. Contact number11. Qualification12. Number of teachers13. No of

a. MEdb. BScc. AAd. B Certe. C Certf. HSG

14. Enrolmenta. Boysb. Girlsc. Overage learners

15. Enrolment Distributiona. ECDb. Elementaryc. JSSd. SSS

Physical plant

16. Types of chairs, arm chairs, benches, stools17. Are there adequate seats?18. Number of Classrooms19. Condition, Excellent, Fair, Poor20. Lab?21. Library?22. Reading room?23. Ramp?24. Teachers’ lounge?25. Auditorium?26. Capacity of auditorium27. The structure built for the purpose of a school?28. Explain the structure29. Signboard?30. Length of the school day, Arrival……… Departure………

Sanitation

31. Source of drinking water, Hand pump, Well, Pipe borne.32. Number of toilets Commodes?33. Separate toilets for boys and girls?34. Cleaning schedule, once daily, twice daily, thrice daily?35. Toilets for teachers?36. Method of garbage disposal, bins, pits, City garbage service37. Hand washing facilities?38. Playground, clean or dirty?39. Playground equipment? See-saw …..Swing…..Tyres….

Health

40. School Nurse/41. School First Aid kit42. Clinic nearby?

Technology

43. Computer? If so how many?44. Generator?45. Internet access46. Fuel source?

Community Involvement

47. Is there a school board? If so who is the Leader, what contact and what sex?

Management

48. Lesson Plan books? Record books?49. Means of production, Typewriter, Computer, Other?

50. Who records student grades on the report card? Teacher, Registrar, Other?51. In addition to the national curriculum will you use supplementary curriculum? If so explain.52. Extra-curriculum activities? Describe….

General Comments

Appendix 2

The Government Calendar

Appendix 3

DEO Letters Regarding Bank Account Applications

Appendix 4

Grace Period Letter from DEO

Appendix 5

Letter of Attestation from DEO

Appendix 6

DOE Supporting Letter

Appendix 7

New Education Act: Functions of the Center for Educational Accreditation

The functions and duties of the Center for Educational Accreditation (Education Act 3.5.5)

3.5.5

The Center for Educational Accreditation, established herein, shall perform the following duties and functions and have the below listed responsibilities:

b) Establish minimum requirements for the accreditation of institutions and the licensing of teachers to provide quality educational services and performance outputs consistent with the standards of the Ministry;

c) Organize short courses on staff appraisals, performance assessment and testing for teachers and students

d) Evaluate the educational training quality of schools in various aspects and forms to ensure the enhancement teaching and learning effects and to promote quality education.

Appendix 8

Extracts from the new Education Act

4.4.1. Primary Education or Lower basic Educationd) The Ministry, through its appropriate Department, shall have the oversight and

inspection responsibilities with regard to all schools falling within this level (Primary) of the school system, whether they be public or private schools, to ensure that the national curriculum are being followed, that the guidelines, rules and regulations of the Ministry and the Government are being adhered to, and the standards prescribed by the Ministry are being maintained.

i) Any school within the primary level failing to conform to the minimum stipulates national standards or requirements, including the minimum curriculum prescribed by the Ministry, shall be closed and its license suspended or revoked by the Ministry.

6.2.1 Teachers and AdministratorsAll teachers and administrators of schools, to be eligible to hold the positions enumerated herein, shall be licensed to teach and shall meet the following requirements.

a) For Senior secondary School instructors and administrators, a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Education or its equivalent and an A Certificate;

b) For Upper basic Education (Junior Secondary) teachers and administrators, at least an associate degree from a recognized teacher training institute and a B Certificate from the authority established under this Act that is empowered to issue Teacher’s Certificates;

6.3.6 Licensing of Teachersa) No person shall be licensed to teach, whether part-time or full-time within the

education sector unless that person holds a professional or teaching certificate:

6.3.7 Registration of TeachersEvery licensed teacher shall be registered within the teachers’ registry of the Ministry prepared in accordance with the procedures regulating the registration of teachers as prescribed by the Ministry.

6.3.9 Annual Appraisal of TeachersEvery teacher shall be appraised annually by the principal in keeping with the guidelines and procedures developed by the Ministry. The principal of a school, in keeping with the guidelines and procedures developed by the ministry shall, each year, appraise every teacher in his or her school, and those falling short of expected performance shall be subjected to retraining and where such retraining fails to enhance the performance the teacher shall be dropped from the system.

Other regulations cover the language of instruction, the observation of Education Day, the School Calendar, the class size, the regulation of the conduct of pupils, the recording and availability of teachers’ records, sports facilities and physical education, the use of textbooks and patriotic observances in schools. In addition tuition and fees charged by private and faith-based schools shall be in accordance with the guidelines established by the ministry.

Appendix 9

Classification of Schools ( Educational Administrative Regulations)

Class A SchoolsClass A schools shall be those that schools meeting the following requirements:

1. Adequate seating facilities for all students and teachers, including armchairs with backrest, desks, chairs, benches and tables

2. Spacious and serviceable libraries or reading rooms for students and teachers equipped with state of the art technology, fully supplied with books, current periodicals, other reading aids and instructional materials

3. Operative science laboratory with an adequate supply of equipment and consumables4. Effective language laboratory5. Spacious kitchen, adequate food storage, eating and food preparation utensils, and

dining room facilities6. Relevant teaching aids or materials that include copies of Ministry of Education

Curriculum for all administrators and faculty, textbooks, computers, copy and printing facilities etc.

7. Adequate supply of clean water for drinking and for washing8. Clean, conducive and sanitary environment9. Sports and athletics facilities that include a football field, basketball/volleyball court,

etc.10. Spacious auditorium11. Spacious and well ventilated classrooms12. Well lighted classrooms

No school shall be certified as a Class A school that does not meet the requirements, and whose administrators do not hold a minimum Bachelors’ Degree in Education or equivalent.Class A schools must have at least ninety per cent (90%) of its students pass the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams at the first sitting. Additionally, 20% of the students must pass in levels one and two6. Failure to acquire this level would result in a probation level A classification.

Class B SchoolsSchools missing any two of the non-curriculum related items listed above shall be classified as Class B Schools. Additionally 80% or above of the students sitting the West African Examination Council exams must pass at first sitting.

Class C Schools

6 Only one student in Liberia passed at level one in 2011. www.firestonenaturalrubber.com/voice/20110818.htmIn 2012 only 6 students gained level 1 and 0.3% achieved less 1 or 2. Overall in Liberia 73% passed. .http://liberianobserver.com/index.php/news/item/1531-liberian-students-score-high-marks-in-waec-exams-as-firestone-school-tops-again

Schools missing any three (3) of the non-curriculum related items listed above shall be automatically designated Class C. Additionally 70% of its students must pass the West African Examination Council exams at first sitting.

Class D SchoolsSchools missing any four (4) of the non-curriculum related items listed above are automatically designated Class D. Additionally at least 60% of the students must pass the WAEC exams at the first sitting. Class D schools are required to remain in this category for a period not to exceed one academic year before being demoted to Class E if the school administration is unable to comply with the requirements set forth by the Ministry.

Class E SchoolsSchools that are missing any five of the non-curriculum related items listed above are automatically classified as Class E Schools. Schools in this category will be given a probation period of twelve (12) months to remedy the defects and improve performance before the withdrawal of the permit to operate or immediate closure.

Class F SchoolsSchools missing six of the non-curriculum related items listed above are classified as Class F schools. These schools shall be automatically closed down if operated by the government or have their permit withdrawn if operated by private individuals or by a faith-based institution.

Appendix 10

Letter from the CEACL to all Schools, with “Steps Leading to Obtaining an Operational Permit” attached

Appendix 11

Latest School Assessment Report Form (from CEACL)

Appendix 12

Transcript from Interview at CEACL Office in Department of Education

“We are also supposed to be licensing teachers; teachers up to this point are not yet licensed. If someone had a teaching certificate in 1978 they went unchecked, up until now they are a teacher for life, they are still teaching. We are saying that there should be a licence for renewal, you can’t just go unchecked. Drivers have licenses, nurses do, lawyers do; teachers should have licences. They should renew after a time and part of the accreditation process, part of our responsibility, is to make sure that they are doing something every month. You obtain a licence and you must retain it by doing monthly professional development, and at the end of 3 years it can be renewed through another testing. You can’t just go unchecked, that is this centre’s responsibility. Also principals need to be licensed to be principals for a certain period. After 3 years your licence would need to be renewed. A principal is subject to monthly professional development while he is principal, this will come with some kind of certificate and we will look at the achievements at the end of the 3 years when it comes to renew his licence. To renew you just have to come through a short course and if you pass that we renew your licence.”

Adolphus B. Jacobs

Appendix 13

Ministry of Education’s Academic Calendar 2012 – 2013

Ministry of Education

Department of Instruction

Academic Calendar 2012 – 2013

1. All School Academic Calendars should be patterned after the National Academic Calendar.2. All Private and Mission schools must regularly display their current operational permit and

the copy of the receipt from the Ministry of Finance.3. There shall be no Saturday classes. All schools are required to fully utilize the Monday –

Friday schedule.4. Gala day activities must be limited to maximum of one instructional day. The appropriate

makeup day should be held to ensure the minimum completion of instructional class time.5. No parade is allowed during the Gala celebration. A fine of fifty thousand Liberian Dollars

L$50,000.00) will be imposed on any institution that violates this directive.6. All schools should ensure that female students wear their hair in natural braids. No weave or

attachment is allowed in school.7. Boys and girls should wear their uniform pants or skirts respectively up their waist. NO

SAGGING.8. A girl’s skirt waist band should be no more than two inches wide.9. National songs should be taught and sung regularly10. Career guidance activities be implemented in schools11. No school, private or public is allowed to collect tissue, soap, arm chairs or ream of paper

from a student.

Important Reminders

All private, mission and parochial schools are required to submit their instructional academic calendar to the Office of the Deputy Minister of education for approval through the County Educational Officer.

Further all schools are required to complete the minimum of 200 days of instructional time for students in the classroom.

All schools are required to hold classes for at least 5 hours per day and 5 days a week. The minimum instructional time is 35 minutes per class for primary schools. The minimum instructional time is 45 minutes per class for secondary schools.

All school cancellations must be approved by the Ministry of Education. All inquiries should be forwarded to the Office of the Deputy Minister for Instruction through the Office of the County Education Office no later than two (2) weeks prior to the cancellation

References

Government of Liberia (2011) A New Education Reform Act 2011. Monrovia: Government of Liberia.

Ministry of Education (2011a) Liberian Education Administrative Regulations. Monrovia: Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education (2011b) Policies for Reform: Liberian Education Administrative and Management Policies. Monrovia: Ministry of Education.