By: Varney Scott
The Margibi School board has expressed the need for cohesiveness and collaboration between the County Administration and the school board in the distribution of scholarships.
The board says while it remains positive in working with County authorizes, it finds it difficult to understand why it was left out of the ongoing controversial Margibi Scholarship program as custodian of all educational activities in the county.
According to the board, it was unacceptable for its exclusion of a “hand-pick” scholarship committee set-up by the county authorities to receive 10% amounting to $16,600.00 United States dollars, out of the $1, 66,000.00USD for the scholarship grant allotted to the county.
The board questioned the sincerity of individuals who preached conflict of interest, when in fact there were some school principals on the scholarship committee receiving over thousand of United States dollars to the disadvantaged of school board members who have served the county for over twenty months without just compensation.
The Margibi School board calls on the County authorities to revisit its decision and allows the board to take full charge of all educational activities in the County as required by the New Education Reform Act of 2011.
The statement was made recently by the Chairman of the board Emmanuel Johnson during a one day Administrative workshop held for fifty educators in Unification town and Harbel Firestone.
The interactive education forum was organized by the Concern and Enlighten Educators for Research and Projects Implementation, headed by Nathanial Carphart and Dwede Hoto, all of the Firestone school system.
According to the Margibi school board, appointing a scholarship committee without its involvement undermines the Education Reform Act signed into law by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on August 8, 2011.
While the Board supports quality education for the children of Liberia, it is however on the county authority to be judgmental always in setting up such committees that will smoothly handle the affairs of the education matters in the county.
It can be recalled recently that students from margibi county attending various universities in the country, frowned on John Z. Buway led county administration as superintendent for handpicking members of scholarship committee which according to several university students has delayed the payment of their tuition at their respective colleges and universities.
When contacted via mobile phone for his comment, superintendent Buway declined to respond, saying, “I’m handling other matters, will get to you soon, he responded.”
