MCSS Teachers Launch Go-Slow

By Stephen G. Fellajuah

MONROVIA, Liberia, September 8, 2026 — Teachers of the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS) have begun a go-slow action over what they say is the government’s failure to implement a 2025 agreement addressing employment, salary adjustments and increased support for public school teachers.

The industrial action began Tuesday, September 8, following months of unsuccessful attempts by the Monrovia Consolidated School System Teachers’ Association (MCSSTA) to have the government address demands contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the association says was signed on March 27, 2025.

MCSSTA President Augustine N. Nyormui said the agreement was reached following a one-day strike by MCSS teachers during the tenure of former Superintendent James A. S. Momoh.

According to Nyormui, the MOU committed the government to employing all volunteer teachers within the MCSS within three months and adjusting the salaries of teachers who had obtained higher academic qualifications.

He said some teachers with bachelor’s and master’s degrees continue to receive salaries based on lower-level teaching credentials despite having upgraded their qualifications.

Nyormui said the government was initially given three months to address the salary disparities, but the deadline passed without the adjustments being made.

The association also claims the agreement called for increased budgetary support to MCSS to provide basic instructional materials.

Nyormui said teachers continue to use their personal funds to purchase lesson-plan books, attendance books, chalk and other teaching materials.

He said the association continued engaging government officials after the initial deadline expired, eventually allowing nearly a year for the commitments to be implemented.

According to him, the association launched a public awareness campaign on August 10 to draw attention to the unresolved issues, but government officials have yet to meet its leadership to resolve the dispute.

Nyormui said the association represents about 1,000 teachers within an MCSS workforce of roughly 1,700 employees, including teachers and support staff.

“The government should just respect the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between us. Nothing more and nothing less,” Nyormui said.

However, MCSS Communications Director Samuel Nyenuh has challenged the association’s account, saying the current administration has no record of an MOU containing the commitments being cited by the teachers.

Appearing on OK FM’s Morning Rush, Nyenuh said no formal handover document brought such an agreement to the attention of the current MCSS administration.

He urged the teachers to suspend their go-slow and return to dialogue with the administration.

The Ministry of Education has also said it is unaware of the agreement.

J. Maxime Bleetahn, Director of Communications and Public Relations at the Ministry, said the ministry had no knowledge of the MOU being referenced by the teachers’ association.

Bleetahn, who also appeared on Morning Rush, said the government has added about 2,000 teachers to its payroll and is working to employ another 1,000.

The conflicting accounts have deepened the dispute, with the teachers maintaining that the March 2025 agreement remains binding and unimplemented, while the current MCSS administration and Ministry of Education say they are unaware of the commitments.

The teachers have vowed to continue the go-slow while pressing for government engagement and implementation of their demands.