uABOUT THE FOUNDATION

The Liberia Science Foundation (LSF) is Non Governmental Organization (NGO) established in February 2011 to promote and encourage Science and Engineering Education (SEE) at all levels of the nation’s educational system. LSF is fully registered and accredited by the Government of the Republic of Liberia.

MISSION

To promote the involvement of science graduates in multidisciplinary research projects relevant to the challenges our country faces. We hope that by demonstrating how problems can be solved by people who have been trained in the sciences; it will develop the intellectual capital essential for further advances.

VISION

Liberia Science Foundation (LSF)- seeks to enable the nation’s development through relevant research and capacity building, serving the society through innovation and discovery across the frontiers of Science, Technology and Engineering (STE).

WHAT WE DO

As described in our mission statement and the Vision; LSF supports and encourages science and engineering education from primary through university and beyond. It seeks to support activities aimed at encouraging the participation of both genders in Pure Sciences and Engineering Education (PSEE). This will help to ensure that there will always be enough of skilled manpower available to work in the new and emerging scientific fields and quality of teachers to educate the next generation.

HOW WE WORK

LSF works with developmental partners to help improve the quality of science learning in the Liberian school system and identify funding to support Research Activities and Innovation (RAI).

Key Resource Persons

National Experts:

1. Mr. Abdulai I. Nyei (Bsc Physics).Adv. System Analysis & Design, System Engineer

Executive Director, Liberia Science Foundation

Part Time Instructor Department of Physics UL

IT Consultant

Dr. S. Morris Cooper

Professor and Chairman Department of Physics UL

Member (Society of Exploration Geo-physics) SEG

Liberia Science Foundation

Mr. Wolobah Sali (PGD/MSc)

Liberia Science Foundation

Instructor University of Liberia

Mr. Emmanuel Johnson (Bsc. Physics)

Liberia Science Foundation

Instructor University of Liberia

Mr. Aaron Wheajar (Msc). Regional Science

Liberia Science Found

Mr. Abraham Kroma (BA. Mass Com.) Adv. Dip. Database Management & Design

Liberia Science Foundation

Mr. Hafiz K. M. Sheriff, Jr.( Bsc. Physics)

Teaching Assistant UL

Consultant MOE

B. International Expert

Innocent Ndoh Mbue (PhD)

Data/Geospatial Analyst;

Consultant/Senior Lecturer:

University of Douala, Cameroon, and

Pan African Institute for Development West Africa(PAIDWA),

Buea-Cameroon

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About the Foundation……………………………………………………...........................….....I

Key Resource Persons..…………………………………………………............................……II

Table of Contents…………………………………………………………….............................III

List of Figures ……………………………………………..................................………...........IV

List of Tables........... …………………………………………...................................…………..V

List of Photograph ……………………………………………..................................…………VI

Foreword ……………………………………….....................................……...........................VII

Acknowledgment.......................................................................................................................VIII

List of Acronyms..........................................................................................................................IX

Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................X

1.0	INTRODUCTION.	Page1

1.1.	Background and Problem Definition

1.2.	Project Objectives

1.3.	Terms of Reference

1.4.	Scope of Work

1.5.	Approach to the Study

1.6.	Structure of the Report

2.0	DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT	Page8

2.1.	Location

2.2.	Demographic Characteristics

2.3.	Education

2.3.1.	Legislation and Policies on Education

2.3.2.	The Liberian Educational System

2.4.	Need for project

3.0	RESEARCH METHODOLOGY	Page 14

3.1.	Population

3.2.	Sample and Sampling Procedure

3.2.1.	Estimation of sample size

3.3.	Sources of Data

3.4.	Data Analysis and Presentation

3.5.	Strength of this survey

3.6.	Limitation of the survey

4.0	RESULTS AND DISCUSSION	Page20

4.1.	Distribution of Senior High Schools in Liberia

4.2	Public spending on education in Liberia

4.3.	Distribution of school Administrators

4.3.1.	Educational attainment of administrators

4.3.2. Subjects taught other than administrative position

4.4.	The Teaching Corps

4.4.1	Teaching corps and Gender

4.4.2	Citizenship of Teachers

4.4.3	Educational qualification of teachers

4.4.4	Teaching Experience

4.4.5	Teacher Workforce Preparation

4.4.6	Capacity Building: In-service Training

4.4.7	Distribution of Trained Teachers by Sector

4.4.8	The Problem of Access versus Quality

4.4.8.1	Teacher Preparation and Student Performance

4.4.8.2	Training opportunities

4.5	Laboratories/Libraries/Textbooks/Students

4.5.1.	General Appreciation of Laboratory Situation by Administrators

4.5.2.	Libraries and Textbooks

4.5.3.	Students Access to Laboratories/Textbooks

4.6.	Summary of Findings

4.6.1.	Policy

4.6.2.	Policy Aims and Goals

4.7.	SWOT Analysis of Senior High School Students

4.7.1.	Strengths

4.7.2.	Weaknesses

4.7.2.1 Financial problems

4.7.2.2. Quality problems

4.7.2.3 Access problems

4.7.2.4 . Gender disparities:

4.7.2.5 Income disparities:

4.8.	Opportunities

4.8.1.	Threats

4.9.	What to do about Quality Problems

4.9.1.	Making education accessible to poor people

4.9.2.	What to Do about Gender Disparities

5.0	CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS	Page 55

5.1.	Conclusions

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: conceptual steps for Liberia needs assessment

of senior high schools …………………………………………….……………….6

Figure 2: location of the Republic of Liberia……………………………………..8

Figure 3: Distributions of senior high school education …………………………21

Institutions by sector

Figure 4: Senior high school enrolment by sector;

source MOE 20111………………………………………………………………..21

Figure 5: Senior High School enrolment by sector and gender:

source; MOE 2011………………………………………………………………..21

Figure 6: Distribution of senior high schools in Liberia;

source; MOE 2010/2011………………………………………………………….22

Figure 7: Government educational expenses and forecast in Liberia………………………………………………………………………..…..23

Figure 8: Highest educational attainment of

SHS administrators …………………………………………………….………..24

Figure 9: relative participation of SHS administrators in classroom teaching…………………………………………………………………………..25

Figure 10: Forecast of the teaching corps in Liberia secondary schools……………………………………………………………………………26

Figure 11: Gender distribution of teaching corps by sector…………………………………………………………………………..…26

Figure 12: A time series forecast of female teaching corps in Liberia…………………………………………………………………………...28

Figure 13: Sectoral comparison of educational attainment of SHS teachers...….30

Figure 14: Variation of teaching experiences across sectors……………………30

Figure 15: Pre and In-service training per sector……………………………….35

Figure 16: Ratings on laboratory skills of Science teacher………………….….38

Figure 17: Laboratory skills with respect to teachers from different sectors…...38

Figure 18: Situation of science laboratories across sectors ….…………………39

Figure 19: Laboratory situation across school sectors………………………….40

Figure 20: Distribution of schools with/without labs per location.…………......42

Figures21: Percentage of books that could not be found in libraries ...……….....43

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Report Structure ………………………………………………………………………7

Table 2: Distribution of the sampled Senior High Schools per location (Grade 10-12) …..……15

Table 2: sample size selection for students…………………………………………………..….15

Table 3: Distribution of Senior High Schools by sector and county…………………………….15

Table 4: Variation of student population by county by gender across counties…………….…..20

Table 5: Professional status of administrators interviewed ……………………………….…….22

Table 6: Distribution of administrators according to sex…………………………………….….23

Table 7: Distribution of administrators per sector per qualifications……………………………23

Table 8: Gender distribution of Liberia SHS teaching corps……………………………………24

Table 9: Croup statistics ………………………………………………………………...………26

Table 10: Functions at Group centroids ………………………………………………………...27

Table 11: classification Results………………………………………………………………….27

Table 12: Distribution of Instructors by citizenship by sector………………………………......28

Table 13: Frequency distribution of educational qualifications of senior high school teachers...28

Table 14: Capacity building methods used by government…………………………………..…29

Table 15: Frequency distribution of teachers who have undergone a kind of training………….31

Table 16: Performance of SHS students at the WAEC examinations…………………………...32

Table 17: Frequency distribution of different training options teachers have undergone…...….33

Table 18: Relationship between area of specialization and subject taught by teachers ………..34

Table 19: In-service training undertaken sector wise……………………………………………36

Table 20: Frequency of laboratory practical per week as perceived by teachers/students……...37

Table 21: Descriptive statistics of the number of teachers having access to science books ……38

Table 22: Reasons why student dislike the science

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Photo 1: shows a functional laboratory before the civil conflict	Page 41

Burn and stands in ruin.

Photo 2: unfurnished and unequipped laboratory

Photo 3: partial functional laboratory

FOREWORD

In the Republic of Liberia, like other developing countries there is the need to provide quality education that better addresses the needs of ever-expanding technologies in information systems, communications, medicine and engineering. Policies, systems and practices in both of these areas must be in place in order to meet the challenges of attaining and maintaining social and economic progress in Liberia.

Education is considered fundamental to the creation of knowledge in today’s’ global marketplace. In Liberia, the need of the educational reform that meets the development needs of our society particularly in science and technology, must take accelerated approach. The Local Universities, secondary schools and tertiary institutions must produce graduates with practical skills-thinking creatively and having the potential to solve the kind of complex -social and economic problems they faced in society.

The report is timely in that it allows us to access the effectiveness of the science and mathematics performance in the senior secondary schools across the country; especially so, when the educational system is about to join the sub-regional examination (WASSCE),which is practically based examines. Although the current policy of the educational system in Liberia is now being reviewed and revised, this system needs significant investment in science and engineering to serve as a driving force to the development of the minds of students in order that they may become synthesizers of lifelong learning, critical thinkers with problem solving skills, thereby meeting the national development goals.

The report provides us with the statistical analysis of the key findings which emerged from the foregone survey. These findings are arranged into several pages.

To support the implementation of the Liberian vision 2030 for better livelihood, quality of life and the wellbeing of the nation and its people; it is important that Liberia create a new generation of young people, with highly developed problem solving skills, professionals who can work together to address the needs of an increasingly complex, technological driven economy. Unfortunately, issues of student performance, quality of teaching, and students’ lack of readiness for examinations/jobs in science and technology are widespread in Liberia.

Despite the efforts exerted, the increasing amounts of resources devoted to the process of educational reform, and despite the progress achieved, still a lot needs to be done. Over the past fifteen years, reform efforts have been met by numerous challenges and obstacles, foremost among which are the increasing rate of population growth, the resulting demand for greater quantities of educational services and educational opportunities, the heavy burden of accumulated problems inherited from previous generations, and the low rate of return to education.

LSF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This report is the product of the Liberia Science Foundation and her international experts-making this projects a reality.

We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for granting us the opportunity to conduct this survey and the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) for her full sponsorship of this project.

Our gratitude to all CEOs, DEOs, school administrators, Instructors and students for their corporation during the data collections exercises. We also like to extend our thanks to all of the Data entry Clarks as well as coding personnel.

This acknowledgement can’t in no way be concluded without extending our sincere thanks to the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) for her initial contribution.

Abdulai I. Nyei

Executive Director

Liberia science Foundation

Monrovia Liberia

ABBREVIATIONS/ ACRONYMS

EMIS ESP	Education Management Information System Education Sector Plan
GER SHS	Gross Enrollment Ratio Senior High School
LPERP LSF LISGIS MCSS MOE	Liberian Primary Education Recovery Program Liberia Science Foundation Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services Monrovia Consolidated School System Ministry of Education
NER	Net Enrollment Ratio
PRSP	Poverty Reduction and Strategy Paper
TEVT	Technical Education and Vocational Training
UNESCO UNICEF	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Children’s Fund
USAID WASSCE	United States Agency for International Development West African Senior School Certificate Examination
SPSS	Computer software for statistical computation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report is an outcome of a survey undertaken by the Liberia Science Foundation, a registered non-governmental organization, whose vision is to see science, technology, and scientific innovations promoted in Liberia. The survey was implemented for the Ministry of Education with funding from the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL)

The study was conducted based on the dismal performance of senior high school students in the National Examination administered by the West African examination Council over the past years in the natural sciences. It has been observed that students who are enrolled at the university in the sciences and engineering and related areas are performing poorly. Moreover, the need to change or adapt education to the needs of the society remains a major challenge to many societies. In the Republic of Liberia, like other developing countries there is the need to provide quality education that better addresses the needs of ever-expanding technologies in information systems, communications, medicine and engineering. Policies, systems and practices in both of these areas must be in place in order to meet the challenges of attaining and maintaining social and economic progress in Liberia. In other words, there must be a coordinated effort between the education and employment sectors to ensure that the education system is producing not only qualified graduates, but those whose knowledge and skills are both in demand and which will meet the development needs of the country. Hence, Liberia must engage in the kinds of reforms that will develop students’ lifelong learning, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative working skills- those of tomorrow’s ‘knowledge workers’. This can greatly be achieved in the domain of science, mathematics and technology education. However, these seem to be plagued with a number of problems.

Unfortunately, issues of student performance, quality of teaching at the senior high school(SHS) level in particular, and students’ lack of readiness for jobs in science and technology (after graduation from universities and from vocational schools)are widespread in Liberia. The needs appear to be more dire in some counties than others, however, only marginally so. The issues highlighted in the present report are seriously hampering efforts to expand and improve upon the quality of education and, subsequently, the pace of progress towards the realization of national social and economic development goals.

Again, statistical data gathered during the present study reveal a consistent downward trend in student performance in mathematics and other science subjects. These data have significant implications for the nation’s development potential. According to a recent World Bank publication, Liberia still lacks ‘the sound base of an adequately qualified and trained workforce to spur further innovation, technological and economic development. The lack of capacity of the educational system to prepare a competent workforce therefore poses a threat to the attainment of the Vision 2030 goal of ‘a Liberia Society that will be competitive, knowledgeable, scientific and technologically anchored among the community of nations’

The present needs assessment study serves as a contribution to the reform of science and technology education in Liberia. One of its primary purposes is to determine the specific gaps or weaknesses in services, infrastructure and opportunities in the educational system. The findings will provide a blue print in the redesign and implementation of the proposed Government of Liberia science and technology education initiative. In particular, the need assessment aims to answer the following key questions:

What is the capacity of the system to prepare students in terms of giving them quality education in science and technology?

What are the potential opportunities, needs and strategies for establishing such centers in Liberia given its particular challenges of social and economic development?

To attempt answers to these questions, some 291 Senior High schools (Grade 10-12), 486 teachers and 4403 students in all 15 counties that make up the Republic of Liberia were selected and surveyed from September 29, 2012 to October 30th, 2012. Stratified random sampling was employed and the stratification was done according to:

County level,

Location (Rural/Urban), and

School sector within the county (Mission/Private/Public).

The study team thus considered a number of factors in the selection of regions and districts including but not limited to:

geographical location, and

performance of students at the West African Examination Council examinations

Both secondary and primary data were collected:

Secondary data were collected from desktop reviews/document analysis and other publications relating to the educational system in Liberia, and government ministries. Primary data sources were obtained from the following sources:

Structured Questionnaire

Three separate questionnaires (Annex I-III) addressing variables related the instruction of science and technology were directed to administrators, teachers and students of senior high schools in the 15 counties:

The Administrator Questionnaire was completed by a School administrator (Principal, Vice, or other),

Teacher’s Questionnaire were completed by Senior High School teachers of Mathematics and sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Computer sciences), and

The Student Questionnaire was completed by science students of grades 10-12.

The variables measured ranged from availability of science textbooks, laboratories, lab manuals, frequency of laboratory Practical per week, etc for students; availability of library, qualified staff, student-teacher ratio, the presence/absence of higher learning facilities including laboratories, textbooks, capacity building of Instructors, and Instructors qualifications, etc for administrators and teachers. At each sampling point the team (two members) was to perform three main tasks:

Introductions of team to authorities,

Questionnaire administration/ Key informants interviews

Observation, and

Focus group discussions

Observation: Learning spaces (especially laboratories and libraries) were made to observe general conditions at the school site, and any assistance operations. Notes were taken down on the current state of the art of science education in the institution concerned. Pictures of were taken to document findings from such investigations.

Focused Group Discussions: At each sampling point, Enumerators had a short focus grouped discussion with the key stakeholders (administrators/students/teachers). The objective was to get details on some of the issues covered and not covered by the questionnaire (class size, Student age, gender disparity, etc)

The officers visited the sampled schools and the Education Offices to administer and retrieve the questionnaires within a period ranging from five (5) days to two (2) weeks.

The analyses of the three questionnaires were done separately but similar items were presented on the same table for comparison purposes. SPSS software and Excel, frequency counts/tables, Charts, Cross tabulations, discriminate analysis as well as qualitative analysis techniques were the main statistical tools employed in analyzing the data generated. The analyses of the three questionnaires were done separately but in a similar manner.

A number of key findings emerged from the present study. These findings are organized into five areas: administration; teacher workforce preparation; curriculum and instruction and support services, and policy. While there are significant findings in each area, several are particularly noteworthy.

Gender wise, our findings showed that of the 291 administrators, 94.8% were males and only 23% of the administrator’s part-take in the teaching process

there is significant gender disparity in the teaching profession in all sectors in the sciences. this could act as a negative motivation to female students to choose careers in science or express genuine interest in science

Only 6% of the SHS teachers have excellent laboratory skills while 32% have poor skills. Most of the teachers with excellent laboratory skills are from the private and mission

On the whole, 84.2% of the institutions surveyed had no laboratories and Over 95% of the schools were only teaching theoretically without laboratory exercise.

Limited access to textbooks: over 80% of the sampled population had no access to science textbooks

Limited or no access to laboratory practical: 91% of the students had no access to Laboratory practical.

Lack of lab demonstrators: Generally, schools have no lab demonstrators.

The study also highlights two primary issues of policy, in the Republic of Liberia. One is the lack of emphasis and integration of science and technology education within existing education policy and strategy frameworks. The other is the lack of clarity of current science and technology education policies, which in turn undermines their proper implementation. These inadequacies indicate particularly weak linkages between science and technology education and national development goals and strategies within the existing education policy framework.

Although the currently policy of the Republic of Liberia is now being reviewed and revised, the issue of linkages warrants further examination. The status of the current science and technology education policy was not, however, clear at the time of the needs assessment study. Regardless, differing educational needs and quality of service provision (e.g., resources), among other factors, in the Republic of Liberia are key to the proper analysis of policy linkages.

The fundamental issue of policy in science, mathematics and technology education for the Republic of Liberia is the persistent poor performance at the SHS level (and probably at lower levels). Related to this issue are those of teacher availability and quality. If there are no qualified/trained teachers in so many schools, as it is the case with almost all the SHSs in our country, then how can one expect students at this level to receive a quality education in these subject areas?

One of the main possible reasons for policy failure is lack of proper implementation. This is probably the case with the educational policy in Liberia. Still, another, more plausible reason is that the role of science and technology to Liberia’s development, and hence, that of science and technology education have not been clearly articulated within existing policy frameworks. From our field investigations, it is evident that role and importance of science and technology to the achievement of Liberia’s education development goals is neither clear nor adequately integrated.

The current research suggests a number of key recommendations including:

Equipping science laboratories in all the senior high schools, this should includes,

Lab. Chemicals;

Lab. Equipment;

Lab. Apparatus ;

Lab. Furniture/tools; etc

Office Equipment and furniture ;

Science lab. Kits/Manuals for Senior students ;

Training of science Teachers with emphasis in laboratory demonstrations;

Conduct national survey of science teachers;

Sponsor mobile/vehicles to monitor/evaluate science training program in the system;

A set of internet with satellite dish for recent information on scientific world;

Make available laboratory equipments; and

Primary school lab equipment not available can be purchased by order. Most trained teachers are using local materials like fish, leaves, cassava, oranges, rubber, etc as typical plant representative.

Although further study might be needed in order to determine the specific potential of the technology sector for fuelling national economic growth and development, it is clear that much greater investment in science and technology education is needed. However, such investment must begin with a clearer set of policies linking the expansion and development of technology sector with the achievement of fundamental objectives of Liberia’s social and economic development.