Margibi County—Two civil society organizations, YARD-Liberia, Inc. and Courageous Youth, have welcomed and praised the Ministry of Education’s decision to introduce free registration for all children attending public schools from Kindergarten through Grade 6, beginning with the 2026/2027 Academic Year.
By Yawah Y. Jaivey
In a statement released on Thursday, August 6, the organizations described the Government of Liberia’s latest policy as a bold, people-centered initiative that will ease the financial burden on parents and guardians while encouraging thousands of children to enroll in, attend and remain in school.
“We believe this policy is a major step toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4—Quality Education, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education for every child,” the statement said.
The two civil society organizations urged Liberian parents and guardians to take full advantage of the government’s policy by enrolling their children in public schools.
The organizations also called on the Ministry of Education to address the deteriorating condition of many public school facilities across the country.
“While we celebrate this important achievement, we respectfully call on the Ministry of Education to give serious attention to the condition of many public school buildings across the country,” the statement continued.
“Free registration alone is not enough if children continue to learn in classrooms that are old, damaged, overcrowded, or unsafe, ” the statement noted.
The groups specifically appealed to the Ministry to undertake major renovations at Peter Town Public School, Charlesville Public School and Bondiway Public School in Lower Margibi.
They also called for urgent intervention at Togar Town Public School, located behind the Firestone Duside Medical Center, where they said the learning environment requires significant improvement.
According to the organizations, these schools deserve safe classrooms, adequate seating, clean sanitation facilities, and learning environments that give every child hope for a brighter future.
The groups also expressed concern over the condition of many Kindergarten (KG) classrooms in public schools, noting that the learning environment for young children is often inadequate and does not support quality early childhood education.
“The Ministry should prioritize improving KG classrooms by providing child-friendly furniture, learning materials, clean classrooms, safe playgrounds and better teaching spaces so children can enjoy learning from the very beginning,” they said.
The organizations encouraged the Ministry of Education to organize regular training and capacity-building programs for teachers in the primary division of public schools.
“Well-trained teachers are essential to delivering quality education and helping children build strong reading, writing, and numeracy skills,” they emphasized.
YARD-Liberia, Inc. and Courageous Youth also called on the Margibi County Education Officer (CEO), District Education Officers (DEOs), school principals, and other education stakeholders to ensure the policy is fully implemented without imposing illegal registration fees on parents and guardians.
“Every child should benefit equally from this national initiative,” the groups stressed.
The organizations further reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Ministry of Education through community monitoring and advocacy. “Through our community monitoring and advocacy work, we make our monitoring services available to the Ministry to help monitor the implementation of this policy, gather community feedback and promote transparency and accountability so that every child truly benefits,” the statement said.
They are urging all stakeholders to work together to ensure that every child not only enters school free of registration fees but also learns in a safe, clean, and quality learning environment.
