In the remote town of Fish-Town, River Gee County, children are forced to learn in makeshift structures made of mud and palm thatch, with no desks, chairs, or proper blackboards.
The appalling conditions have raised urgent concerns about the government’s commitment to basic education, as Liberia’s 2024 national budget allocated a meagre sum to primary and secondary schools.
Visiting one of these so-called schools reveals an environment unfit for learning. The walls, made of dried mud, are crumbling. Water leaks through the roof when it rains, forcing students and teachers to abandon lessons. Many children sit on the bare ground, struggling to focus without school supplies, while teachers, many of whom go months without pay, fight an uphill battle to keep them engaged.
“This is not a school; it’s a disaster,” said a frustrated parent. “How can our children compete with others in better conditions? The government keeps promising to fix education, but we see nothing.”
Despite clear policies from the Ministry of Education mandating minimum standards for school infrastructure, the national budget tells a different story. President Joseph Boakai’s administration allocated just US$1.88 million for basic and secondary education in the 2024 fiscal year, an amount nearly equal to the budget for the Office of the President, which received US$1.72 million. Out of the total allocation, much of the funding went to administrative costs rather than direct improvements to school infrastructure.
Teachers, already burdened by poor salaries and a lack of teaching materials, say these budgetary decisions directly contribute to the worsening crisis.
“When children have to sit on the dirt floor with no materials, they lose interest,” said a teacher in Fish-Town, speaking anonymously out of fear of retaliation. “The government says education is a priority but look at this place. There is no evidence of that.”
Local officials have remained silent on why schools in Fish-Town remain in such dire conditions. Education authorities have not clearly responded to whether funding for school infrastructure has been mismanaged or simply ignored. Parents and community leaders now demand immediate action, calling on the government to inspect the conditions firsthand and intervene.
The deteriorating state of schools in River Gee is not just an issue of poor infrastructure—it is a crisis that threatens the future of an entire generation.