Education System in Liberia
|Primary||Elementary School||1||6||6||12||6||Most of the schools in the country are being operated by churches or Christian missions, among which are the Catholic Church, Methodist, Episcopal and a few others. Others are being by the government under the supervision of the Monrovia Cooperative School System (MCSS). English is the official language of instruction in Liberian public schools.|
|Middle||Junior High School||7||9||12||15||3||Certificate/diploma awarded: Examination by the West African Examination Council (WAEC)|
|Secondary||Senior Secondary Education||10||12||15||18||3||Certificate/diploma awarded: West African Examination Council (WAEC) Certificate|
|Post-secondary||Vocational/Technical School||2||Certificate/diploma awarded: Associate Degree|
|Vocational||Teacher Training (Primary school)||3||Certificate/diploma awarded: Primary Teacher's Certificate/Grade C Teaching Certificate|
|Tertiary||University level first stage||4||Certificate/diploma awarded: Bachelor Degree|
|Tertiary||Teacher Training (Secondary school)||4||Bachelor's Degree in Education or Grade A Teaching Certificate|
|Tertiary||University level second stage||2||Certificate/diploma awarded: Masterc Degree|
|Tertiary||Teacher Training (Higher Education)||2||A Master's Degree is required to teach in Colleges of Education, together with a teaching qualification. University teachers must hold a Doctorate.|
|Tertiary||University level third stage||3||Certificate/diploma awarded: Doctorate degree|
Education continues to be the victim in war-ravaged Liberia, with what facilities there are, found mainly in the state capital Monrovia. State schools are poorly operated and private school fees beyond the reach of the nation’s poor.
Those who do attend kindergartens learn to identify letters and read a little. Thereafter they go on to primary school for 6 years where they follow courses in arithmetic and general science, and sometimes also english and bible studies too.
Junior high schools are found mainly in Monrovia, and at isolated missions in the countryside. All are controlled by the ministry of education that prescribes algebra, chemistry, geography, geometry and physical science as the curriculum. At the end of this period they sit for their west african examinations.
Senior high school completes their school education. Here, students study more advanced levels of junior high school subjects and prepare for university. As 98% of these schools are in the capital city of Monrovia, it becomes clear that the system is designed around the needs of the nation’s already-haves.
Liberian vocational training is little more than a joke in bad taste, with the exception of efforts by unicef and others. Many young people’s futures were mercilessly ravaged in sectarian violence through recent years. If they get a job at all (especially in the rural areas) then they are grateful just to be told what to do.
Tertiary education has also suffered in the past two decades. 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 illustrated here offers graduate courses in education and administration, while Cuttington University adds public health and business administration.