Alice Gweleh
Pupil in Liberia
In 2016, Liberia’s Ministry of Education announced the Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL) initiative, a public-private partnership designed to transform the public education system. Education providers with proven track records in delivering high-quality education were paired with public primary schools across Liberia and we were chosen as one of the first government partners. To date, we are the biggest of the eight partners.
The programme is now entering its third year and the name has changed to the Liberian Education Advancement Programme (LEAP)
“The public side of a public-private partnership is just as important as the private side. Thousands of children are enrolled in schools, taught by re-invigorated and re-trained government teachers, supported by energised parents and resilient communities. They have the full backing of the Ministry of Education and I am proud of what has been achieved so far. The future of hundreds of thousands of Liberian children, their communities and our nation is at stake. We must not fail them.”
— George K. Werner, former Liberian Minister of Education.
An independent Randomised Control Trial (RCT) conducted by Center for Global Development and Innovations for Poverty Action showed that after just nine months learning had increased across the program by 60% overall. At Bridge Liberia pupils learnt twice as fast as their peers in neighbouring public schools.
Watch this short video to understand the motivations behind the public private partnership in Liberia.
Watch this video from November 2017, from the Liberian Ministry of Education about the early impact of Partnership Schools for Liberia (now LEAP).
Find out more about Private: Where We Work
Bridge Liberia: Learning gains set to continue as Liberian government commits to public private partnership program