Thousands of less-fortunate Liberian children, including orphans are expected to benefit from free education from an international organization under the auspices of Education for the Future in Liberia.
EFTF is an international Christian organization that is involved in assessing the educational sector to provide scholarships for students whose parents can’t afford to meet up with their tuition.
In Liberia, children between ages 3 and 5 benefit early childhood education from government.
Nearly 50 percent of students enrolled in early childhood education are six years or above. Many learners start ECE late and subsequently do not enter primary school until they are eight to 10.
Speaking late Tuesday evening June 22, 2021, upon arrival at the Roberts International Airport in Margibi County, EFTF International Director Lars HM Ross said his visit to Liberia is to carry out an assessment on orphanages and schools in all 15 counties to help provide free education for children thru the organization.
According to Mr. Ross, Liberia is the first country in Africa that is expected to benefit from this initiative that will provide scholarships for orphans and other children whose parents cannot afford to send them to school.
“The importance of the initiative is to provide conducive learning opportunities for underprivileged school-going kids, orphans and other disadvantaged children in Liberia in both academic and Christian education”, he said.
While in Liberia the EFTF director will meet with board members, of his organization, private individuals, and national leaders, as part of his assessment visit.
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In remarks, the President of EFTF Liberia Chapter, Pastor Roland Chester, who welcomed Mr. Ross for the first time to Liberia said, he is honored to have him in the country.
According to Pastor Chester, the initiative by EFTF is a boost and will give hope to many children who are currently out of school due to the inability of many parents.
“We are grateful to God first for this great opportunity in our country and grateful to all executives and members of EFTF for choosing Liberia first. I am so happy for all of them”, Pastor Chester said.
He noted that they are focusing on orphans and underprivileged children, because of many challenges parents faced in paying their children’s fees at public and private schools in Liberia, adding that the project, when implemented, will help thousands of children especially orphans in acquiring quality education in the country.
According to Pastor Cheater, the facts finding mission will be carried out in all 15 counties in Liberia.
The education sector in Liberia which has been referred to as messy still faces a complex set of challenges including rebuilding and recovery, constrained national finances, poor infrastructure, and the Ebola epidemic.
The challenges also include poor learning outcomes, overage enrollment, a huge number of out-of-school children, wasted government resources because of ‘ghost’ teachers and unskilled teachers, something that has affected the sector over the years.https://www.usaid.gov/liberia/education By Lewis S. Teh, Editing by Jonathan Browne
