NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – The Ministry of Education has rejected applications from several schools seeking authorization to operate in Liberia after identifying serious concerns about teacher qualifications and compliance with the government’s permit requirements, Education Minister Dr. Jarso Jallah has disclosed.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
Minister Jallah said schools seeking to operate legally in Liberia are required to apply through an online system and undergo a verification process that begins at the county level before applications are forwarded to the Ministry’s central office for final consideration.
Speaking Tuesday, August 12, 2026, at the Ministry of Information press briefing, Minister Jallah said the process also involves the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), with school operators required to settle their fees before their applications can be processed.
“Schools wanting to operate have to go online, they have to apply, and we have a process from the county level to central office to clear that, looping in the Liberia Revenue Authority where school operators must pay their fees before we get them processed,” Minister Jallah explained.
She said the digital permitting system has enabled the Ministry to identify significant problems with some schools seeking authorization, particularly discrepancies involving the qualifications of teaching staff.
According to the Education Minister, some schools submitting applications have indicated that they operate from pre-school through Grade 12, while the teachers listed as members of their faculty are only high school graduates.
“We see that some schools will send us a list of their teachers and we see that the schools are operating pre-school to 12 grade and their entire faculty are high school graduates,” she said.
Minister Jallah said such cases raise serious concerns about whether the schools meet the Ministry’s requirements for operation, particularly in relation to the qualifications and capacity of their teaching staff.
She disclosed that schools found not to meet the requirements have been rejected and are not permitted by the Ministry of Education to operate in Liberia.
“And those schools have not been permitted by the Ministry of Education to operate in the country. They have been rejected,” Minister Jallah stated.
The Minister said the number of rejected applications demonstrates the importance of the government’s digital permitting process in strengthening oversight of the education sector and ensuring that institutions seeking to operate meet established standards.
She said the online system is also making the process more transparent by allowing information concerning school permit applications and decisions to be accessed digitally.
“So there are several schools across our system that are now being rejected, and it is a system, it is a process that you can now see digitally,” she said.
Minister Jallah encouraged members of the public who want to verify information concerning school operating permits to use the Ministry’s permit website rather than relying solely on information provided by individual school operators.
“If anyone wants to go and look for the information I am sharing, you can do so by accessing the permit website,” she said.
The Education Ministry’s position comes as the government continues to strengthen its oversight of private schools and ensure that institutions operating within Liberia’s education system comply with established requirements.
The Ministry’s online permit process, according to Minister Jallah, is intended to provide a clearer system for reviewing school applications while enabling authorities to identify institutions that do not meet the required standards before they are authorized to operate.
