Published: April 13, 2026
MONROVIA — The controversy surrounding the accreditation of Barshell University College is intensifying amid conflicting claims from the institution and regulators.
The dispute follows a recent mandate by the House of Representatives directing the Liberian Board for Nursing and Midwifery to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the university and grant licensure only after it meets all established standards.
However, Barshell University Board Chairman Ceebee Barshell has accused the board of unfairly targeting the institution.
“I am not in government, but I believe that I have been targeted — not only me, but the entire institution,” he said. “It challenges the status quo of other universities they run. We have people running schools who are part of the assessment team evaluating our institution.”
Barshell, a former representative of Montserrado County District 3, alleged that the board received $5,000 from the university to facilitate accreditation but has delayed the process despite conducting an assessment in 2022.
“Under our laws, when you pay for something, you ought to get it,” he said. “We paid over $5,000 in 2020, and today is 2026. We paid for accreditation; we did not pay for assessment.”
He further claimed that the board has failed to provide the university with the assessment report, contributing to the institution’s collapse. According to Barshell, the university has been closed since 2023 after its nursing program, once enrolling more than 800 students, shut down.
“They have failed to give us the 2022 assessment report as required by their own policy,” he said. “That failure broke down our institution.”
Barshell also asserted that the university has qualified lecturers and modern laboratory equipment but declined to allow journalists to verify the claims during a recent campus visit.
The Liberian Board for Nursing and Midwifery has strongly rejected the allegations.
Registrar and Executive Secretary Celilia C. Kpangbala-Flomo said providing feedback to institutions is a required step in the accreditation process and was completed in this case.
“If you read our educational policy, feedback to the institution is a key step,” she said. “We owe that to every institution.”
Flomo emphasized that all institutions must meet strict criteria before receiving accreditation, including access to clinical training sites and qualified faculty.
“When training people to care for lives, there are standards we cannot overlook,” she said. “For example, 90% of faculty must hold master’s degrees, and institutions must have clinical sites.”
She described the accreditation process as transparent, noting that observers are typically invited to monitor assessments.
Addressing the $5,000 payment, Flomo clarified that the fee covers the assessment process and does not guarantee accreditation.
“This money is for assessment, which leads to licensing only when all criteria are met,” she said. “It is not a payment for a license.”
The Center for Transparency and Accountability, a civil society organization, said its investigation found the accreditation process to be fair and transparent.
Despite this, concerns persist over the involvement of the House of Representatives. The 55th Legislature has summoned the nursing board and tasked its Public Accounts Committee with reviewing the board’s financial records. Lawmakers have also called for Barshell University to be granted a permit following assessment.
The legislative action follows a communication from former Representative Barshell requesting intervention. A similar recommendation was made by the 54th Legislature, which urged the board to license the university after evaluation.
Accreditation guidelines are designed to protect the integrity of health care education and ensure professional standards. Liberia currently has 28 accredited nursing institutions, but authorities report a growing number of unlicensed schools producing graduates ineligible to practice.
In June 2025, Barshell University College was among 31 unauthorized institutions shut down by the National Commission on Higher Education for failing to meet accreditation standards.
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