Volunteer Teachers To Confront Education Minister As Senate Probes Payroll Scandal

By Amos Harris

Monrovia, Liberia — A major confrontation is brewing in Liberia’s education sector as the National Volunteer Teachers Network of Liberia (NVTNL) mobilizes its members to descend on the Capitol Building. The teachers plan to directly challenge Education Minister Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah as she faces a fresh round of Senate questioning over what critics are calling a payroll scandal.

In a blistering statement, the NVTNL accused Minister Jallah of peddling “half-truths and evading accountability” during her initial September 4 appearance before the Senate. At that hearing, the Minister claimed that 2,307 volunteer teachers had been “processed” but admitted that only 458 names were submitted to the Ministry of Finance for payroll placement.

Unconvinced by her testimony and the “glaring discrepancies,” Senators ordered the Minister to reappear with full documentation.

The NVTNL charged that the inconsistencies point to a deliberate attempt to keep thousands of classroom teachers in limbo while the Ministry “hides behind technicalities.”

At the heart of the controversy is the government’s opaque classification of some teachers as “unqualified.” The NVTNL argues that this designation is being weaponized to deny hardworking Liberians their rightful salaries, even though many of these same individuals continue to teach daily in overcrowded classrooms.

“If these teachers are truly unqualified, why are they still in front of students?” the statement pressed. “The government cannot have it both ways—exploiting their labor while branding them unfit for payroll.”

Teachers Issue Five Core Demands

The volunteer teachers plan to converge at the University of Liberia campus at 8:00 a.m. before marching to the Capitol Building. Organizers have called on members to bring placards, service records, and a firm commitment to nonviolence.

The NVTNL is demanding immediate transparency and action from the Ministry, centered on five core demands:

1. Immediate employment of all qualified volunteer teachers.
2. Public disclosure of the “unqualified” list and the criteria behind those judgments.
3. Compensation for all “unqualified” teachers who have served for years without pay.
4. A transparent, binding timeline for payroll placements.
5. An end to broken promises and shifting excuses from education authorities.

The group insists that Monday’s Senate hearing is more than routine oversight; it is a test of the legislature’s seriousness in confronting systemic mismanagement within the Education Ministry.

“This reappearance signals that our lawmakers are alarmed by the inconsistencies in the Minister’s claims,” the group stated. “We will not sit idly by while she makes unchallenged statements about our lives and livelihoods.”

The statement, signed by General Secretary Michael B. Moore, National Chairman John D. Nimely, and Public Relations Officer Patrick D. Walker, concluded with a stark warning to the education authorities.