Ministry of Education expansion of LEAP prompts an increased number of teacher training from Bridge Liberia in collaboration with the Ministry of Education under the LEAP partnership arrangement

MONROVIA – The Ministry of Education led by the Honorable Minister, Prof. Ansu D. Sonii, Sr. joined Bridge Liberia for the closing ceremony of close to 1,500 teachers who were trained ahead of the start of the new school year in Liberia. Customarily, partners of the Liberia Education Advancement Program (LEAP) conduct refresher training for the teachers assigned to all schools under their supervision. The number of trainees/teachers for this year’s cohort increased significantly due to the additional number of schools approved by the Ministry to Bridge Liberia that is in fact the biggest partner of the LEAP. 

The expansion of the Liberian Education Advancement Program (LEAP) into every county in Liberia is a major milestone achieved under the partnership as the intention remains to tackle the learning loss that is anticipated to affect schools and communities across the country as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. With one main objective in mind, access to quality education without discrimination, the decision to expand the LEAP intervention ensures to jointly through partnership, close the gap in its basic education sector through effective teacher training; pedagogically appropriate lesson materials and ongoing coaching, training, and capacity building. 

The four remaining partners in the LEAP program has experience expansion as follows:

• 179 additional public schools to Bridge Liberia; taking its total to 350 supported schools.  
• 8 new schools to Street Child, taking the total number of schools to 40.
• 15 schools to U-Movement taking the total number of supported schools to 40.
• No additional school allocation for Rising Academies which still supports 95 schools.

The expansion of the program means that 525 public primary schools are now benefitting from the Government’s LEAP partnership. Close to 1,500 government teachers were at the beginning of the academic year, re-trained to use modern child-centered pedagogy and technology; giving an additional student in 2021/2022 access to quality education and the opportunity to build a better future.

In attendance at the close of the Bridge Liberia in collaboration with the Ministry of Education teacher training for 2021/2022, were the Chair of the Education Committee at the Senate, Hon. Prince Moye who was keen on supporting partners to excel while providing strong oversight to the entire LEAP program. The Chair of the Education Committee Lower House, Madam Mariama Fofana was also in attendance as she commended the Ministry of Education for continuing to improve educational outcomes for students across Liberia.

It can be record that the LEAP program was rigorously studied using a standard Randomized Control Trail (RCT). As LEAP enters its sixth year of programming only four of the original non-state partners remain in the philanthropically supported LEAP program. 

For more information, contact MoE at “1416” or email contact@moe.gov.lr