MONROVIA, Liberia, November 25, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
A milestone on the path of improving the quality of teacher education in Liberia is happening today as Liberian academics from across universities in the country, international subject experts and other stakeholders come together for a three day meeting from 25 to 27 November 2015 at the National Archives Building in Monrovia. Participants will analyse and validate the first draft of the revised “B” Certificate Curriculum for Junior High School teachers. The curriculum review process began in 2014 with support by the European Union through a Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Education. The stakeholder meeting represents the final stage of the review process before the piloting launch at the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute in January, 2016.
The “B” Certificate curriculum is designed to train Junior High School teachers with subject area specialization. There has been no active teacher training programme for Junior High teachers since the war at any of the three Rural Teacher Training Institutes in Liberia. In an attempt to fill classrooms with more qualified teachers, close collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the European Union have made the possibility of the upcoming piloting now a reality.
Recently, the Government approved in the current fiscal year an allocation of $400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand US Dollars) to support the project. The piloting will be conducted by national subject specialists and trainers, with the support of international experts through the Technical Assistance provided by the EU. A total of 100 trainee teachers from across all the 15 counties of Liberia will participate in the piloting.
During the graduation ceremony at the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute in 2012, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf asked the Ministry of Education to reinstitute the “B” Certificate in order to address the shortage of qualified Junior High School teachers. The stakeholder meeting, also supported by the EU, is the last step before the doors of the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute will open in 2016 for the first time since the war to offer the “B” Certificate teacher training programme. After the two year teacher training programme, the newly-trained teachers will be expected to return to their respective regions to serve.
