The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) has shut down four institutions of higher education for not meeting the commission’s standard of accreditation to run as higher institutions of learning.
The affected schools include the Vision International Christian College of Liberia around the Paynesville Town Hall; the Leigh Sherman Community College in Paynesville; the Christian Theological Seminary in the Jamaica Road community and the St. Clements University College.
According to a release, the four institutions mentioned were inspected by the Quality Assurance Department of the National Commission on Higher Education on April 13, 2021.
The inspection considered the institutions’ learning facilities, campuses, statuses of accreditation with the NCHE, and compliance to the NCHE’s regulations, among several others.
The concerned institutions were found inapt regarding their campuses, learning facilities, including expiration of their accreditation permits, and noncompliance to the annual higher education service fees paid to the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA).
The release also noted that the NCHE Secretariat provided a six-month ultimatum for these institutions to regularize their statuses and put in place the relevant issues that were flagged. Contrarily, these institutions blatantly failed to comply with the directives of the NCHE.
NCHE says while it continues to effect its full mandates, it stands resolute to take all appropriate actions on institutions in noncompliance with its regulatory functions, including non-accredited operating higher education institutions.
NCHE said the above-mentioned institutions no longer exist among the lists of licensed and accredited institutions by the commission within the Republic of Liberia.
The release noted that if these concerned institutions’ managements desire to operate accredited programs in the future within the Republic of Liberia, they will be subjected to reapply, and shall be assessed in accordance with the “Policy for Licensing Institutions to Conduct Post-Secondary Education and Training in Liberia.”
The NCHE is conducting routine inspections on all licensed and accredited institutions in Liberia, to ensure that higher educational quality provision is prioritized by licensed and accredited higher learning institutions.–Press release
