By Matalay Kollie
Gbarnga, Bong County — Liberia’s education sector is confronting a growing reading crisis driven by weaknesses in early childhood education, according to Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah.
Speaking Wednesday in Gbarnga at the Week of the Young Child, the Minister said the country risks long-term setbacks if foundational learning challenges are not urgently addressed.
“The issue of foundational learning is now visible,” Jallah said. “As a government, if we do not fix this, we would have failed our country and our people.”
She emphasized that many children are already struggling by the time they reach upper primary grades, often due to inadequate preparation in their earliest years of schooling. According to the Minister, these early gaps in literacy development are difficult to reverse later in a child’s academic journey.
“Behind that reality is a child sitting in a classroom—sometimes outside one—trying to make sense of a system that did not fully prepare them at the beginning,” she noted.
Jallah highlighted the government’s EXCEL project as a key initiative aimed at improving learning outcomes at the primary level. However, she stressed that strengthening early childhood education must be a national priority if meaningful progress is to be achieved.
The Minister also pointed to the need for better teacher preparation, describing educators as central to addressing the crisis. “It is our responsibility as a government to ensure that we are preparing our educators,” she said.
Beyond the classroom, Jallah called for a collective approach involving families, communities, and policymakers. She warned that schools alone cannot compensate for weak early foundations, nor can policies succeed without coordinated support systems.
“Education is a human right. Government cannot replace families. Schools cannot function in isolation from communities,” she said. “Each part must do its work.”
Drawing comparisons with developed countries, Jallah noted that significant investments in early childhood education have yielded stronger educational outcomes elsewhere. She urged Liberia to act early rather than attempt costly interventions later.
“We still have an opportunity to close the gaps early instead of trying to repair them later,” she said.
The Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to working with stakeholders across the education sector to ensure measurable improvements, adding that national progress must be reflected not just in rhetoric but in tangible outcomes.
“We will continue to forge ahead… to make sure that the rise of Liberia does not remain in nice speeches, but that we see evidence of it every single day,” she concluded.
