Liberia’s tertiary education system has been rocked with controversies over the surreptitious and unilateral action of Education Minister Dr. Ansu Sonii to overturn a mandate from the National Commission on High Education (NCHE) intended to regulate and uphold standards within universities and colleges operating in the country.
The NCHE is an agency of the Liberian government charged with the responsibility of evaluating, accrediting, and establishing institutions of higher learning in the country. It is under the Ministry of Education.
It can be recalled that the commission, through its Director General Professor, Edward Wonkeryorannounced a new policy prohibiting non-doctorate degree earners from serving as Presidents and Vice Presidents at tertiary institutions operating in Liberia.
“This is to inform all heads of higher education institutions in Liberia that one of the overarching policy expectations of the NCHE is that all Presidents and Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs (VPAA’s) of Universities and Colleges operating in Liberia must possess a doctorate degree from an accredited university and /or college,” a statement issued by the NCHE stated.
It continued: “An honorary degree holder is disallowed to serve as President or Vice President for Academic Affairs at any higher education institutions within the Republic of Liberia.”
The move made by the commission comes in the wake of the disclosures of alleged fake academic credentials being held by scores of eminent citizens in Liberia, including some former and current lawmakers, Presidents and Vice Presidents of various universities by a Liberian organization based in the diaspora, Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court in Liberia (CACC).
The group is headed by exiled Liberian youth and student activist Martin Kollie.
The new policy issued by the NCHE does not seem to receive the blessing of Education Minister Dr. Ansu Sonii.
Speaking on the Super Morning Show on ELBC on Monday, February 20, Minister Sonii claimed that the decision taken by Professor Wonkeryor to issue a new policy, other than what he met at the agency, was unilateral and wrong.
He noted that following the drafting of the policy, the NCHE boss was requested to suspend its issuance to ensure that it was discussed with the Board at the ministry.
Minister Sonii, however, placed a halt to the implementation of the policy.
According to him, the policy will remain suspended until Professor Wonkeryor and the Board of Commissioners meet to hold consultations and justifications on why the policy should be issued at this time.
He said though authorities at the ministry remain committed to reforming the higher education sector, the implementation of any policy must be done properly.
“We asked him to suspend it and go back to the same platform, he refused to do that. It was there before he came, but he has failed to go back and suspend his action so that we and the board can discuss it and find a way forward and issue a notice to support his action-but he refused to do that. . I called him several times and he went to Nimba and he never did it. Because he has refused to do that, I said I will go through the platform and suspend his action. What’s wrong with that?”
Minister Sonii disclosed that his action to suspend the policy with immediate effect is an intelligent move to avoid any confusion between him and the NCHE Director General.
Backpedaling over previous decisions?
Barely a day after the policy was issued; there were reports that the Presidents of the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion University (AMEZU) Dr. Alvin Edward Attah and Dr. Benjamin Lartey have resigned the positions.
But in a statement issued in Monrovia on Tuesday, February 21, the Board of Trustees of the AMEU said it has learned and read with grave concern a story carried in the February 17, 2023 edition of the Analyst newspaper alleging of the resignation of the university’s President Dr. Attah.
The Board categorically denied the allegation and pointed out that, it has not received any letter of resignation from its President.
“The Board has not acted on any such alleged non-exiting letter of resignation by the President of AMEU. Even more disconcerting is the further allegation made by the newspaper in the referenced news story that the AMEU has already commenced seeking applications for a new President to conduct the affairs of the university,” the statement issued under the signature of the Board Chairman Rev. Paul J. M. Kawimbe stated.
The Board states in the most unambiguous term that it would have met and discussed not only the “public service announcement for immediate release”, emanating from authorities of the NCHE, but it would have examine its legality or illegality, both in respect of the authority of the acting Public Relations Officer who signed the release, acting in concert with the Director General to act on their own to initiate and issue such “far reaching policy with severe implications and consequences for the nation’s higher education.
The Board observed that it would have also questioned and raised concerns on why the NCHE took such action with immeasurable national consequences without a policy statement, action or resolution from the Board of Commission.
The statement pointed out that the AMEU Board of Trustees, which is the policy making body of the university, would have also met to discuss any acceptance of the alleged and speculative resignation letter of the President of the university, as well as to make decisions on any further course of action needed to be taken for the protection and continued smooth operations of the university.
It noted that the publication was made in the absence of any evidence of a meeting held by the Board of Trustees of the AMEU to discuss any of the issues stated in the Analyst’s “speculative and false news story.”
“Certainly, at the very least, one would have expected that the Analyst newspaper would have conducted an investigation into the matter of such speculation, since there was no evidence to support the assertions made in the news story, and made contact with the appropriate authorities of the university to ascertain , firstly, what was the reaction of the university relative to release from certain personnel of the NCHE public service announcement, and secondly, whether the speculation about the resignation of the university’s President was correct and the Board of Trustees’ response to the alleged resignation of the university’s President.”