Over 2.3million books distributed to schools

The Ministry of Education or MOE says it has distributed a total of 2,320,000 books to public schools throughout the country for academic year 2015/2016, Deputy Information Minister Isaac Jackson told a press briefing here Tuesday.

But the government failed to name the beneficiary schools and their locations.  Education Minister George Werner returned a text to this paper last night repeating claims by Minister Jackson saying the distribution was done in all public schools.

However, Jackson named books distributed as 1.3 million supplementary readers, 1,000,000 textbooks and 20,000 teacher guides covering Math, Science, Social Studies and English. Jackson said the textbooks are intended for students from 5th to 9th grade, while the supplementary readers are meant for students from grades one to four.

Jackson said MOE discovered during the distribution that there was an increase in enrollment in some schools, while there was a decrease in others, noting that this resulted in miscalculations in the process. He added “where the number of students was under-calculated during the distribution process, books and materials will be redistributed.”

He indicated that MOE is committed to giving each student from Monrovia to the rural communities the same access to textbooks and other learning materials. In addition to receiving new books and instructional materials, Jackson said teachers have been participating in training and professional development workshops for adequate classrooms preparations.

According to Jackson, 8,390 teachers, administrators and PTA members from both public and private institutions have benefited from a three-week training focusing on the pedagogy and psycho-social expertise. He pointed out that the 20,000 teacher guides were also provided to ensure the security of the books in the schools.

Further, the Ministry of Education says it has conducted a survey of school buildings that need renovation, adding that it has already identify over 500 hundred schools across the country. It says, seventy of the 500 schools were completed by August 2015. Another seventy-three of the schools roof have been repaired or replaced while renovation and construction work will continue until all 500 schools are completed.

By Ethel A. Tweh -Edited By Othello B, Garblah