A World Bank Funded Implementing Results In Secondary Education Project in Gbarnga, Bong County, is reportedly facing academic crisis.
This follows reports of unpaid teacher salaries leading a shutdown of learning at Gbarnga Senior Secondary School.
The facility was funded by the World Bank through the International Development Association, and commissioned in June, 2025, by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
It was designed to expand access to quality secondary education.
However, reports have revealed that the project is now faltering, with classrooms left empty, and students stranded due to a prolonged failure to pay teachers.
According to reports, the crisis began earlier this year when teachers reportedly went unpaid for three months, prompting a “go-slow” protest that has effectively halted learning activity since January. Students told DN News that the disruption has led to near-total academic stagnation, with many loitering the campus during instructional periods.
“We are not learning,” student leader Adolphus Brown, Jr. said, highlighting widespread frustration.
The situation marks a sharp decline from the school’s first semester, when teaching and attendance were said to be stable.
Questions are now being raised about how, and why such a high-profile project, has reached a crisis point. While the infrastructure was financed by international partners, responsibility for teacher salaries lies with the Ministry of Education.
Students have informed this platform that this gap between construction funding and operational support has exposed deeper systemic weaknesses.
However, the Administration have resolved to remain silent on the matter.
When Contacted, Bong County Education Officer David Boakai said via telephone that he is currently in Monrovia working to validate documents related to the issue, and therefore could not provide immediate details.
Boakai assured reporters that he would update the public once consultations with county authorities are complete.
Source: Phi Jacob Kermue/DN NEWS Liberia
