James T. Brooks
MONROVIA, Liberia — Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. has launched a pointed critique against the current Unity Party (UP) administration, accusing the government of allowing corruption to overshadow critical investments in healthcare and education. Speaking during a recent appearance on Freedom FM, Tweah argued that the former Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) administration maintained a superior track record in social sector performance and called for urgent institutional shifts.
A central pillar of Tweah’s critique focused on the integrity of the national education system. He highlighted a “pay-for-grade” culture that he believes is eroding the value of Liberian qualifications. According to Tweah, the current system—where teachers grade their own students—creates a conflict of interest that facilitates bribery.
“Parents are going to teachers to give money so their children can pass, and that means the children are not learning anything,” Tweah stated. To combat this, he proposed a radical policy shift: decoupling the teaching and grading roles. Under this proposal, independent external assessments would account for the majority of a student’s final grade, ensuring that academic success is based on merit rather than financial influence. He challenged President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to adopt this reform as a litmus test for the administration’s commitment to education quality.
Tweah further addressed the “quality gap” in public classrooms, asserting that many instructors, particularly at the high school level, lack the fundamental qualifications required to prepare students for the modern workforce. He emphasized that the government’s primary responsibility should be the recruitment of high-caliber educators and the implementation of rigorous monitoring systems to ensure accountability.
While acknowledging that quality remains a persistent challenge, Tweah vigorously defended the CDC’s record on educational access. He cited the “Free Tuition” policy as a landmark achievement that opened the doors of higher education to approximately 60,000 students who would have otherwise been priced out of the system.
In the healthcare sector, he noted that while the CDC succeeded in physical expansions—such as the construction of the 14 Military Hospital—the focus must now shift from “bricks and mortar” to service excellence. He urged the Boakai administration to build upon these foundations rather than abandoning them.
Tweah concluded by advising the government to prioritize long-term institutional reforms over “ribbon-cutting” infrastructure projects. He acknowledged that while systemic changes—such as improving healthcare service delivery or refining grading standards—are often difficult to showcase during political campaigns, they are the essential drivers of national transformation.
“These things are not easy to show during campaigns, but they are the things that truly change a country,” Tweah remarked, calling for a governance approach that values sustainable outcomes over immediate political optics.
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