The academic future of thousands of students is now hanging by a thread as the indefinite strike by faculty members of rural universities and colleges in Liberia enters its second week, with no resolution in sight.
Since September 24, 2025, members of the Rural Universities and Colleges Faculty Association of Liberia (RUCFAL) have stayed away from campuses, bringing all academic activities to a halt across nine institutions.
The strike, which was announced on September 24, has left students in uncertainty and growing frustration, particularly newly admitted freshmen who had hoped to begin lectures this semester.
“We came all the way from Lofa just to find locked classrooms,” said 19-year-old freshman Emmanuel Kpannah. “We paid our fees, paid rent in town, and now we are just wasting time and money. This isn’t fair.”
Many students had anticipated the start of the academic year on October 1, only to be met with disappointment as campuses remained eerily quiet.
More than 500 first-year students from counties including Nimba, Grand Gedeh, and Margibi are currently stranded, unsure whether to remain on campus or return home.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve been through this,” said a final-year student at Bong County Technical College, who asked not to be named. “I’ve been stuck here for over twelve years just trying to graduate. How do we have a future when everything is always on hold?”
The strike stems from longstanding grievances by RUCFAL over salary disparities and what they describe as unfair labor practices by the Government of Liberia.
Faculty members are demanding salary harmonization with their counterparts at the University of Liberia and William V.S. Tubman University in Maryland County, as well as relocation allowances and better research funding.
“This strike is a demand for fairness, equity, and justice,” said RUCFAL Secretary General Phillip N. Kwahmie during a press conference at Bong County Technical College. “No faculty member is allowed to go on any of the campuses or engage in any academic work until further notice from RUCFAL.”
Students, however, say they are the ones bearing the real cost of the deadlock.
“This whole strike might make us drop out. Our parents are struggling already,” said Grace Sumo, a second-year agriculture student at Grand Bassa University. “We are not against the teachers. They deserve better too. But at the end of the day, it’s us who lose time, who lose hope.”
According to RUCFAL, multiple petitions and communications have been sent to President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, the Legislature, and other government officials since February 2025, without any formal response or action.
A bill that would standardize salaries across public tertiary institutions still sits with the House of Representatives.
The impact of the strike is being felt across all RUCFAL-member institutions, including Bomi County Community College, Grand Gedeh University College, Lofa County University, Margibi University, and others.
Budgetary disparities, according to financial records, continue to plague rural institutions compared to their urban counterparts, further deepening the inequality.
Frustrated by the government’s silence, student leaders have hinted at organizing a peaceful protest targeting government offices in Bong County if no action is taken soon.
“We cannot continue to be ignored,” said a student union representative at Nimba University. “If the government won’t hear the teachers, maybe they will hear us.”
As the standoff drags on, fears are growing that an entire semester—or academic year-could be lost. Faculty members remain firm in their position, while students and parents look on helplessly.
“Liberia’s education system is already fragile,” said an academic staff member sympathetic to the students’ plight. “Prolonged strikes like this just push it closer to collapse.”
RUCFAL, in its latest statement, called on the Liberian public to support its call for equity and dignity within higher education, but for many students, hope is wearing thin.
“For every day that passes, our future slips further away,” said Emmanuel Kpannah. “We just want to learn. That’s all.”
