GANTA, Nimba – Liberia’s minister of education, George K. Werner, has revealed a huge need for teachers in the country.

He said at the moment, Liberia needs at least 4,000 teachers across the country’s primary and secondary schools.

He made the comment at the dedication of two annexes of the government-owned John Wesley Pearson High School in Ganta. The project was supported by the Legislative Support Projects fund.

“At the moment, we have a deficit of 4,000 teachers,” Werner said. “This means that we need more young Liberians to go to school and become teachers. The ratio of teachers to students in many communities is sometimes 60-100 students to a teacher.”

The newly annexed J. W. Pearson Government High School in Nimba – Photo by: Arrington Ballah

Werner also used the occasion to inform attendees about the current state of affairs of the education sector.

“Let me use this opportunity to say that, at the moment, Liberia has 1.5 million children in school,” he said. “Of that 1.5 million, more are in government school than in private, religious or community schools.”

Werner also highlighted the poor enrollment of girls at the junior and senior high levels, especially given that more girls are enrolled in kindergarten than boys, and the ratio is equal from grades four to six.

“In Liberia, there are many reasons for the girls dropping out of school,” he said. “And let me give you the three top reasons. One is money, two is culture, and three, early pregnancy.”

Werner said there were many new schools being built all around the country that need well-trained teachers and good textbooks to teach the ‘future generation.’

Featured photo by Dominic Chavez/World Bank