24 October 2018, President Weah remarked “I, therefore, declare free tuition for all university students at the University of Liberia as well as all other public universities in Liberia….,” President Weah intentions are not good, his body language was deceptive, nevertheless, his inner spirit regarding education are virtually syndical, deceptive, betraying and definitively unbelieving by any stretch of political imagination.
President Weah doesn’t believe in the tenet of education values neither has he ever been a champion of education nor has he ever valued or defended education or celebrated educators since his trek to the Presidency, how can he then so suddenly out of the blue becomes the chief champion advocate of education overnight by waiving tuitions for weary students around Liberia who attend broken public schools and Universities with no plans clear plan and focus.
The building of the Liberian educational system is not President Weah’s primarily focus, Liberians shouldn’t be overzealous over such as a seemingly hopeless promise. There are multiple instances to suggest otherwise that President Weah is betraying the student population in Liberia. For example, when President Weah was worth $85 millions as a foot football legend in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, he did not channel a dim to the suffering students of Liberia, neither his own forgetting AL matter Well-Heston? Or his own Kru-community’s schools in New-Kru Town.
When he declared himself a CDC’s lifetime leader, he never sent any CDCian to elementary school neither did he encouraged CDC’s huge school dropout population rate to go back to school, especially, when he became Senator. He used his Senatorial portfolio as a medium to ascend to the Liberian Presidency. He did not one day champion the cause of education of poor students in the House of Senate. He was basically concerned about his personal aggrandizement and personal agenda. Over 90 percent of Cedecians are acutely illiterate, yet President Weah had no immediate educational plan for all CeDecians both old and young.
When President Weah won the presidency in January 2018 his first priority was not to break ground for a new University complex, or send score of students to study abroad in various fields of interests to reconstruct Liberia, President Weah first priority was basically to strengthen the security apparatus when he willfully launched a less-impressive groundbreaking ceremony for the erection of a military hospital for 4,000 inexperienced armed forces of Liberia, which was just another political disgrace. Why didn’t he break grounds for another new University?
President Weah made several international travels to some most wealthy nations including France to lobby for sports development in Liberia. The president did not lobby the French government to support education in Liberia, he lobbied for the development of sports in Liberia. Meanwhile the long years the president spent in sports, he did not develop sports in Liberia he invested in the transport system, when the elections didn’t go his way in 2015, he sold all his buses to Ivorians thus leaving his own weary Liberians to get stranded on the streets of Liberia-Is President Weah truly a patriotic Liberian to the broken Liberian educational system?
President Weah’s utterance is a huge political hypocrisy to the students of the Republic of Liberia which was vehemently disappointing and disgraceful. President Weah lacks the educational empathy, constituency, seriousness and his untruthfulness to the power of the Liberian education system which lies in terrible shambles to the insensitivity of President Weah. President Weah is not a fan of education, Liberian students shouldn’t be moved by such a cloudy and dark move by the President.
If President Weah was truly committed and sincere to help the deplorable educational system in Liberia, tuition waiver and free education will not be the main approach to the problem. The main approach to the Liberian educational problem is nothing short of educational reform, and not the importation of corrupt Nigerian teachers into the already volatile and rotten Liberian educational system or tuition waiver entertainment fiasco.
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It is unfortunate at this time in the history of Liberia’s to see scores of Presidents of Liberia from time-to-time who ignored the serious plight of the Liberian educational system since Liberia was established 171-years ago on July 26, 1847. Former President Sirleaf refused to employ UL graduates into her administration on grounds that they were feeble and poor-quality-materials to serve in her administration, as a result, she imported score of corrupt Liberians from the U.S. to serve in her administration which was a disgrace to the Liberian educational system.
To proof that President Weah pronouncement is simply another political joke. President Weah’s acting educational minister Latin Da-Thong alarmed that President Weah’s pronouncement of tuition-free for undergraduate students at public tertiary institutions does not cover fees for registration of ID card. Handbooks, among other expenses. Students should know that President Weah’s statement is not law nor is it an executive order, it is simply another side statement made by a President which cannot be trusted because the Liberian people cannot hold him if he didn’t deliver on his promises.
This pronouncement is having no supporting plan, time duration, nature of tuition how long it will last and who all can be covered remain the biggest mysteries in Liberia. President Weah statement is nothing short of a political deception to please the poor students of Liberia for his own political gains that might soon put weary students on the streets of Liberia to demonstrate.
