By By: Domingo Dargbeh
Monrovia – Deputy Minister for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Laraamand Shenkin Nyonton, has strongly criticized a bill introduced by Montserrado County District #2 Representative Sekou Kanneh, which seeks to grant the Monrovia Vocational Training Center (MVTC) the authority to award Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees.
The bill, recently submitted to the House of Representatives and awaiting Senate action, has sparked debate about the role of vocational institutions in Liberia’s higher education sector.
But Deputy Minister Nyonton was clear in his rejection. He argued that Liberia’s vocational and technical training sector is already plagued with insufficient funding, limited infrastructure, and a lack of adequate oversight. Granting MVTC degree-awarding status, he said, would only “burden the national envelope” rather than strengthen the country’s education system.
“There is no need to grant BSc status to MVTC when vocational institutions across the country have limited budget support and serious infrastructural challenges. The priority should be passing the Liberia TVET Commission Bill, not adding more institutions to strain resources,” Nyonton asserted.
He further dismissed the bill as lacking evidence-based justification. According to him, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which supervises MVTC, was never consulted during the drafting process.
Highlighting the institution’s financial struggles, Nyonton disclosed that out of 1,427 students currently enrolled, only 227 were able to pay their fees. He blamed unfulfilled promises made by politicians during election campaigns for worsening the students’ financial difficulties.
“We can’t put these students out of school, so we are left to find funding opportunities for them. This is the reality on the ground, not the creation of more degree-granting institutions,” he emphasized.
Nyonton concluded that the Kanneh bill was neither timely nor in the interest of Liberia’s education sector, expressing confidence that the Senate would reject it.
