Professor D. Ansu Sonii, Liberia’s Minister of Education has publicly decried the dress code of Liberian teachers and their respective support at their respective assigned places of work.
Minister Sonii remark was contained in his declaration of the official launch of the five-day National Education Summit and the Joint Education Sector Review on Friday, May 4 in Monrovia, stressing, “We will remain robust in our quest to improve the system”
Sonii therefore challenged them to be one of those people that the public should admire, “because teachers and or school administrators represent the parents (first contact) while imparting knowledge to the pupils.”
The summit, on the theme, Prioritizing Education: “Why We Should Care,” runs from May 21 to 25, 2018 with the aim of harnessing a collective effort to provide quality education for every Liberian child. It will he held on the campus of the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Margibi County.
He told the gathering comprising education stakeholders that the exercise is to institute a vibrant education foundation to capacitate the students, but warned that teachers and school administrators should, specifically during school hours, remain at least well dressed to represent the ministry and the education sector, whose mandate, among other things, are to impart well-tailored knowledge to the students.
“To build on previous gains and learn from existing challenges, we have undertaken a wide range of engagement with stakeholders and a nation-wide assessment of schools. This has provided us the first-hand information about the issues affecting education in the country today,” Min. Sonii said.
Education Deputy Minister for Planning, Research and Development, Alton V. Kesselly, said the upcoming event will bring together 300 education specialists, policymakers, parents and teachers by highlighting the government’s vision for education as a key pillar of the pro-poor agenda. It will also outline government’s approach to working alongside key stakeholders to give Liberian children the best possible start in life.
In addition, Kesselly said partners, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the World Bank will make special presentations.
“Education is a priority for the new administration, which has recognized that that robust change is needed to improve the life chances of Liberians and contribute to the sustained development of Liberia or the benefit of everyone,” Kessselly said.
The objectives of the summit, according to him, are to present findings from key assessments of the education sector, (other reports from the sector); present the pro-poor agenda perspectives for quality education in Liberia; identify workable solutions that contribute to an improved education system; present the rationale for increment in allocation to the education sector in the national budget, and obtain shared commitments for education advancement in the country.
The summit will provide opportunities for key stakeholders to review the education sector, provide independent perspectives of the status of the sector and develop consensus around a shared vision for the improvement of the education system in the country; concentrate on the Joint Education Sector Review, which will assess implementation progress at both the county and national levels against planned activities and targets outlined in the “Getting the Best Education Sector Plan.”
Source: Daily Observer
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