Liberia, a low-income country on the West Coast of Africa, has faced significant challenges in its education sector. Bordered by Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, and Guinea, Liberia has a population of approximately 4.1 million, with 44.5% residing in urban areas and 55.5% in rural areas. Since 2003, the political situation has stabilized, but the 2014 Ebola outbreak significantly reversed economic progress, impacting various sectors, including education.
Map of Liberia
The Structure of Formal Education
Liberia operates on a 6-3-3 formal education structure. The official entry age for primary school is 6. Secondary school is divided into lower secondary (or junior secondary), consisting of grades 7-9, and upper secondary (or senior secondary), consisting of grades 10-12. The school year officially runs from September to June. Through the 2013 “Agenda for Transformation,” free and compulsory education was extended to grades 7-9.
Challenges to education are significant, including the impact of the 14-year civil war, which resulted in the loss of trained workforce, the abduction of children into armed forces, and the destruction of schools. Corruption, teacher absenteeism, and abuse of resources and power have also been noted as major challenges.
Students in a Liberian classroom
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Enrollment Rates and Overage Students
According to Liberia’s Education for All National Review, enrollment rates across all levels increased considerably from 2005/6 to 2013/14. However, many students are overage, especially at the secondary level, with overage students hovering around 95%. This pattern is hardly different at the primary level, where an average 91% of students are overage. In certain counties such as River Gee, River Cess, Grand Bassa, and Grand Gedeh, 95% or more of students are overage.
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Tertiary Education
Tertiary education has also suffered. The core institutions are the University of Liberia (founded as a College in 1863), Cuttington University and Harper Technical College, with contributions also being made by several other private religious institutions. The University of Liberia offers graduate courses in education and administration, while Cuttington University adds public health and business administration.
The Salvation Army's Contribution
The Salvation Army started working in Liberia in May 1988. In 1992, The Salvation Army started its first school in Monrovia, the capital city. This initiative was gradually extended to other parts of the country and has grown to a school system consisting of 13 learning institutions - mostly built during the civil conflict - which includes three primary, four junior secondary, five senior secondary and one tertiary learning institution. There are 5,289 students enrolled in Salvation Army schools in Liberia with 386 administrative, instructional and support staff.
The school system provides quality education with strong discipline and has gained an admirable reputation in the country among the leading educational providers. The Salvation Army schools in Liberia have consistently been amongst the best performing schools in public examinations with the schools mostly obtaining 95-100 per cent pass rates annually with many national awards in academic and extracurricular activities.
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With a successful record of providing primary and secondary education in the country, The Salvation Army started offering tertiary education in 2018 through its polytechnic facility which offers associate degree programmes. In 2022, the polytechnic received accreditation to offer baccalaureate degree programmes in 10 disciplines.
At the end of 2022, The Salvation Army received three prestigious educational awards: the African Education Legends Award, recognition as the most outstanding educational institution of the year 2022 and the head of the Territorial Education Secretariat was also recognised as the educational director of the year 2022.
Rising Academies and LEAP
A total of 185 schools took part in the evaluation. Of these 185 schools, 93 were assigned to one of the eight private operators. Rising Academies (allocated 5 schools). The other five non-profit providers include BRAC (allocated 20 schools), Street Child (allocated 12 schools), More than Me (allocated 6 schools), Youth Movement for Collective Action (allocated 4 schools), and Stella Maris (allocated 4 schools). After one and three years, the research team measured the impacts of LEAP on school access, learning, and financial sustainability.
International School of West Africa - Liberia (ISWA-Liberia)
After several years of operating as a Dakar Academy Co-Op Campus, our Liberia location officially launched as a full-service campus in 2024 under the name International School of West Africa - Liberia (ISWA-Liberia). ISWA-Liberia began with a simple mission: to serve families working in hard-to-reach places with quality Christian education. As a Co-Op Campus, it provided multi-age instruction in a small, tight-knit setting.
Top Secondary Schools in Liberia
Here are some of the notable secondary schools in Liberia:
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- The American School of Liberia
- Light International School System
- Cathedral Catholic High School
- Levi C Williams High School
- St. Peter’s Lutheran High School
- Wells-Hairston High School
- A. M. Fofana Islamic and English High School
- St. Teresa’s Convent High School
Table 1: Key Education Statistics in Liberia
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Urban Population | 44.5% |
| Rural Population | 55.5% |
| Primary School Entry Age | 6 |
| Overage Students (Primary Level) | 91% |
| Overage Students (Secondary Level) | 95% |
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