The_Open_Door_deel1

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Thus a vicious circle was created which worked in the interest
of the politically elite. The children of rich, important and/or
powerful leading families were granted Government scholarships
by their parents and relatives. They studied abroad and upon return
were given important positions in the Government which enabled
them to do the same for their children and relatives. The
cost of Liberian students studying abroad was extremely high.
These investments by the National Treasury would, however, have
been justified if the selection of candidates had been based on
capacity and merit rather than on nepotism and class interest.
As it actually worked out the Government of Americo-Liberians
used Treasury funds to serve its own interests and to maintain
its privileged position. In 1950 it cost the Treasury
$ 153,663.50 to maintain Liberian students studying or
undergoing training at Foreign Institutions abroad. It was
reported that approximately $ 1,800 was needed to meet the
expenses of one student for one year (except those students
studying medicine and the students at Harvard University, U.S.A.,
who required approximately $ 2,500 to cover their expenses for
one year) (46). This sharply contrasts with the impossibility to
improve the country's schools' supply of (good) textbooks. When
a committee which in 1951 was instituted by President Tubman to
revise the curricula of the Elementary and High Schools and to
select textbooks selected and recommended the purchase of
textbooks to the value of $ 53,000.00 the Department of Public
Instruction could not order these books as the Budget only
provided for $ 15,000.00 for this item (47).
Table 53 summarizes the educational situation in 1950. In that
year there were 2 Public High Schools in Montserrado County (in
Monrovia): Liberia College, with 160 students, and the W.D.
Coleman High School, with 2 (!) students; there was 1 Public
High School in Grand Cape Mount County, with 15 students;
1 Public High School in Grand Bassa County, with 39 students;
1 Public High School in Sinoe County, with 58 students, and 1
Public High School in Maryland County, with 54 students. There
were no public high schools in one of the three Provinces (the
"Hinterland").
There were 5 Mission High Schools in Montserrado County, with
367 students; 1 Mission High School in Grand Cape Mount County,
with 58 students, and 1 Mission High School in the Western
Province (15 students).
There were no high schools operated by concessionaires.One
foreign company operating under a concession agreement in
Liberia. Firestone, operated 5 primary schools, staffed by 6
teachers and with an enrolment of 387, in the Central Province
(48). None of the concessionaires, however, was obliged to
provide educational facilities, their concession agreements with
the Liberian Government being silent in this respect.
The relative importance of the (educational) facilities provided
is difficult to establish as in 1950 the country's total
population and its geographical distribution were not yet known.
In 1956, for the first time, a population census of Monrovia was
conducted. This was followed in 1957/58sby censuses taken in