The_Open_Door_deel1

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The educational opportunities are very unequally divided between
the sexes. The overall proportion of boys from the school age
population who actually attended school was 40.7$ while that of
the girls was only 23.2$. A closer examination of this
characteristic showed that educational opportunities for girls
decrease with the increase of the educational level. Whereas in
the elementary schools twice as many boys were enrolled, the
senior high schools were attended by nearly three times as many
boys. (Table 59).
Of the 32 out of every 100 Liberian children who were so
fortunate as to find a place in a school 20 went to a public
school, 7 attended classes in a school run by missionaries, and
5 received instruction in a private school (individuals,
companies, concessions). The ratio between students in public
schools and students in non-public schools varies however
significantly with the level of instruction. In general the
ration is 2 : 1, notably at elementary and pre-elementary
school level. Already at junior high school level a shift
towards a higher proportion of students in non-public schools is
noticable, with a ratio of 3 : 2, whereas at senior high school
level the ratio has virtually become 1:1. (see Tables 60-A
60-B). This decreasing participation of the Liberian Government
in Education, as the level of instruction increases, is further
clear from Table 60-C which shows that 6$ of public school
students were enrolled in senior high schools - with a
corresponding figure of 10.5$ for the mission schools. The
number of students enrolled in Government, Mission and other
than Government and Mission Schools, by level taught, and by
Country, are presented in Annex 27, 28 and 29 respectively.
As is also shown in Table 60-C over 50$ of all students were
enrolled in elementary schools. However, it is important to note
that not all of these (elementary) schools were of equal
importance or quality. No less than 410 schools did not provide
the final grade (6th grade) whereas 150 did not even go beyond
the 4th grade (see Annex 30 for further details).
The pupils enrolled in the elementary schools of Montserrado
County can in, this respect be considered to be the luckiest as
in this county only 25.3$ of the elementary schools offered less
than the 6th grade. The situation was extremely bad for two noncoastal
counties (Lofa County and Grand Gedeh County) and for
one coastal county (Grand Cape Mount County). Of all elementary
schools which did not provide all six grades 45$ were located in
the coastal counties whereas nearly 60$ of all elementary
schools were located in these coastal counties.
T,he lack of a school syllabus provides us with another indicator
of the level of education offered. More than half of the
country's schools did not have school syllabi, the situation
being slightly better in the coastal counties than in the inland
counties. Three out of four schools in Maryland County, Grand
Gedeh County, and Nimba County did not have school syllabi. See
Annex 31.