316: rebuilding Liberia's education system

Way back on day Forty-One of this blog, I posted a story about a Liberian teen who was about to start university at age 14, having educated himself against the odds. Today, I found this hopeful article on allAfrica.com, reporting on the priority that President Sirleaf's government has given to expanding the country's education infrastructure and supporting poorer families to keep their children, especially girls, in school. Fortunately, it seems that NGOs, UN agencies and foreign donors are lining up in support of the Liberian government's goal - and this support will be necessary to make progress, given the extent of the challenge. The country has a literacy rate of just 20% currently. But commitment from the top, and money in the budget to back it up, give Liberia a fighting chance. Hopefully it won't be too long before all Liberia's children are in school and doing well, even if they can't all get to university at 14!