17 Interesting Liberia Education Facts

The Best Facts About School in Liberia

Liberia is not very known. It is a country located in Western Africa. Its capital city is Monrovia, which has more than a million inhabitants.

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its education. In light of that, I have listed my 17 best facts about school in Liberia, and I hope you will love them:

1. Child labor is a problem in Liberia

While this first fact is not about education itself, child labor is a huge issue in Liberia and it obviously prevents these children from attending school.

In fact, 16.6 percent of Liberian children are employed in various physically-demanding fields!

2. Liberian children work in very harsh conditions

Out of the 16.6 percent of working children, 78.4 percent work in the agricultural field.

This is far from easy, as they usually farm cocoa, cassava, and coffee. They also produce rubber and charcoal. These places are considered hazardous by the U.S. Department of Labor.

3. The Liberian civil war destroyed the country as a whole

Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic, and it was stable… until 1989 and the civil war. It lasted officially 8 years but the fighting did not end until 2003.

Because of it, the country was left without infrastructure, and public services shut down.

4. Children were also enrolled in the military at a very young age

Not only do many Liberian children skip school because they are working in poor conditions, but some others are also enrolled in the military at a young age!

During the civil war, children were recruited to be part of the army and took part in the conflict.

5. There are public and private schools in Liberia, as well as religious ones

Just like in many countries, there are both public and private schools in Liberia.

However, while most children who attend school go to public schools because they are free, they lack many basic learning facilities. Parents who can afford it send their children to private schools.

6. The quality of education in public schools in Liberia is very low

Not only are public Liberian schools in shambles, but the teaching quality there is very low as well.

This is due to teachers being underpaid and not giving much effort to do their job, even though the government started investing more in recent years.

7. There are five levels in the Liberian education system

Similar to other countries, Liberia chose to divide its education system into 5 levels: kindergarten or preschool, primary school, junior high school, senior high school, and college.

Apart from junior high school (being equivalent to middle school), this system is very classic.

8. Liberia has one of the highest percentages of out-of-school children in the world

You already know that Liberia struggles when it comes to school attendance.

More precisely, it has one of the highest levels of out-school children on the planet, with around 15 to 20 percent of 6 to 14-year-olds who are not in class.

9. Preschool education is not taken too seriously in Liberia

While preschool education seems important, or even mandatory for some people, very few Liberian children actually attend preschool.

In fact, only a third of preschoolers have access to early childhood learning programs. This is probably due to the low quality as well as Liberian people’s mindsets.

10. Most of Liberia’s students are overaged compared to their grade

For many reasons, the vast majority of Liberian students are overaged compared to their grades.

This is mostly because they enter school too late, or they do not have access to it, or they do not graduate and need to repeat the grade.

11. Only 54 percent of children complete primary education in Liberia

The fact that so many Liberian children are overaged means they are at high risk of dropping out.

As a matter of fact, only 54 percent of Liberian children complete primary education, as the rest of them either drop out or are already working.

12. An important part of Liberian teachers are unqualified

Liberia faces another problem in this vicious circle: not only are teachers underpaid and do not give much effort, but they are also unqualified.

Indeed, 36 percent of primary teachers, as well as 29 percent of secondary teachers, are unqualified.

13. There are 13 vocational training institutes in Liberia… but they are not in function

Even higher education is a problem in Liberia: this makes sense since the foundations of education are vastly flawed.

For instance, while the Ministry of Education claims there are 13 vocational training institutes in Liberia, none of them are actually operating.

14. Religious education has deep roots in Liberia

Religion is very important in Liberia. In fact, there are religious institutes that provide relatively good education, but they are reserved for members.

Faith-based education has deep roots in Liberia. The major religions are Catholic, Episcopalian, and Methodist.

15. Liberia needs to fix many problems tied to its education

There are many reasons why the education system in Liberia is flawed, and the country needs to fight them as much as possible.

These are mostly: parents’ illiteracy, overcrowded classrooms, high school dropout rate, poor quality of education, and inadequate educational infrastructure.

16. The Liberian Ministry of Education rules every school level

The local regulating authority when it comes to education (from kindergarten to higher education) is the Ministry of Education.

It is divided into three departments: administration, instruction, and planning. Each of these has precise missions, and the ministry is represented at district levels.

17. There is still hope for Liberia’s education to become better

Despite everything that happened, especially the civil war as well as the Ebola outbreak, Liberia is still making significant progress when it comes to education.

International organizations as well as the Ministry of Education are repairing and building classrooms, training teachers, and revising the curriculum.

So there you have them, these were all my 17 interesting facts about the Liberia school system. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the rest of the country, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

Liberian School Hours

Let’s keep going with our next part, dedicated to Liberian school hours. The typical school schedule in one country can often be very different from your own, and it’s always interesting to have more details on how students go on about their day.

Liberia Primary School Schedule

Primary school in Liberia is free, at least in the government schools.

Most children attend private schools instead, which are all very expensive for the average Liberian salary.

Primary education lasts for 6 years, and leads to the “Liberia Primary School Certificate”, after a coordinated examination in government-funded schools and many private schools.

Courses are mostly arithmetic and general science, as well as English and Bible studies sometimes.

Liberian High School Schedule

Right after primary school comes middle school, with Junior high school. These are managed by the Ministry of Education, and the main courses are algebra, chemistry, geography, geometry, and physical science. To enter Liberian high school, there is a general west African examination.

Senior high school comes next in Liberia, and it allows students to attend university afterwards. However, almost all of these are in the capital.

General Facts About Schooling in Liberia

This last part is dedicated to general facts about schooling in Liberia. More specifically, we’ll check 2 key figures that will give you a better understanding of the education level in Liberia.

Enrollment in tertiary education for Liberia: 11.64%

(Average for regions: Sub-Saharan Africa: 8.6% | South Asia: 20.8% | Arab States: 36.4% | East Asia: 36.5% | Latin America: 43.3% | Europe and Central Asia: 62% | North America: 84%)

Data from World Bank EdStats/UNESCO

Liberia literacy rate: 48%

(Average for regions: Sub-Saharan Africa: 65.3% | South Asia: 72.9% | Arab States: 79.4% | Latin America: 93.7% | East Asia: 95.8% | Europe and Central Asia: 98.5%)

Data from World Bank EdStats/UNESCO

More Education Facts!

Do you want even more education facts about other countries?

Check out these facts:

• Education in Tanzania
• Education in Malawi
• Education in Kenya

Or click here to see ALL the education facts up on the blog!

The Full List of 17 Liberian School Facts

1. Child labor is a problem in Liberia
2. Liberian children work in very harsh conditions
3. The Liberian civil war destroyed the country as a whole
4. Children were also enrolled in the military at a very young age
5. There are public and private schools in Liberia, as well as religious ones
6. The quality of education in public schools in Liberia is very low
7. There are five levels in the Liberian education system
8. Liberia has one of the highest percentages of out-of-school children in the world
9. Preschool education is not taken too seriously in Liberia
10. Most of Liberia’s students are overaged compared to their grade
11. Only 54 percent of children complete primary education in Liberia
12. An important part of Liberian teachers are unqualified
13. There are 13 vocational training institutes in Liberia… but they are not in function
14. Religious education has deep roots in Liberia
15. Liberia needs to fix many problems tied to its education
16. The Liberian Ministry of Education rules every school level
17. There is still hope for Liberia’s education to become better

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