Verity News has summarized the report of Human Rights Watch, dated May 20, 2026, as follows:
1) Only 38 percent of children complete grade 6, and just 17 percent complete grade 9. These figures place Liberia among the worst-performing education systems globally and underscore the scale of exclusion.
2) Liberia has one of the highest out-of-school rates in the world. Roughly one-third of all school-age children, ages 3 to 17, and half of rural children have never attended school.
3) Despite laws requiring free education from grades 1 to 9, children at all levels—from early childhood education through senior secondary—are required to pay registration fees and other costs to attend public schools.
4) At early childhood level, intended for children ages 3 to 5, 43 percent of children are at least 3 years over age.5) By secondary school, more than 60 percent of students are 4 or more years older than the official age for their grade.
6) Students who begin school late are more likely to repeat grades, drop out, and fail to complete their education.
7) The burden of fees is particularly severe in a country where nearly half the population lives in poverty.
8)In some schools, classes of 80 to 100 students are common, and volunteers—many unpaid for years hoping to get a paid position—make up a large share of the teaching workforce.
