Volunteer Teachers Confront Ministry

Storm is brewing in the education sector as the National Volunteer Teachers Network of Liberia (NVTNL), mobilizes its members to descend on the Capitol Building in demand of pay.

The VT as the teachers are named, have demanded answers from Education Minister, Jarso Maley Jallah, who faces a fresh round of Senate questioning over a “payroll scandal.”

In a blistering statement, the NVTNL accused the Dr. Jallah of “peddling half-truths and evading accountability during her September 4 appearance before the Senate.”

 She claimed that 2,307 volunteer teachers had been “processed,” but admitted that only 458 names were submitted to the Ministry of Finance for payroll placement.

Senators, unconvinced by her testimony, ordered her back with full documentation to explain the glaring discrepancies.

“The numbers don’t add up, and neither do the excuses,” the NVTNL charged, pointing to a “deliberate attempt to keep thousands of classroom teachers in limbo, while the Ministry hides behind unreasonable technicalities.”

At the heart of the controversy is the government opaque classification of some teachers as “unqualified.”

 The NVTNL argues that this designation is being weaponized to deny hardworking Liberians their rightful salaries, even though many of these same individuals continue to teach daily in overcrowded classrooms.

“If these teachers are truly unqualified, why are they still in front of students?” the statement pressed for answer.

“The government cannot have it both ways exploiting their labor, while branding them unfit for payroll.”

The group has demanded the Ministry to immediately publish a full list of teachers it considers unqualified, disclose the criteria behind those judgments, and compensate all who have served for years without pay.

Volunteer teachers plan to converge at the University of Liberia (UL) campus at 8: a.m. before they marched to the Capitol Building.

 Organizers have called on members to bring placards, service records, and a firm commitment to nonviolence protest.

Their five core demands are: immediate employment of all qualified volunteer teachers; public disclosure of the “unqualified” list and criteria; compensation for “unqualified teachers,” who have served; a transparent, and binding timeline for payroll placements; an end to broken promises and shifting excuses from education authorities.

The NVTNL insists that Monday’s senate hearing was more than routine oversight, or a test of the legislature seriousness in confronting systemic mismanagement within the education sector.

“This reappearance signals that our lawmakers are alarmed by the inconsistencies in Dr. Jallah’s claims,” the group stated. “We will not sit idly by while she makes unchallenged statements about our lives and livelihoods.”

The statement was signed by secretary-general, Michael B. Moore, National Chairman, John D. Nimely, and Public Relations Officer, Patrick D. Walker.