Published: August 13, 2025
GBARNEY, Bong County — As the 2025–2026 school year approaches, residents of Gbarney Town in Electoral District 3 face uncertainty over whether the Gbarney Public School will reopen, as most of its volunteer teachers threaten to quit over unpaid wages.
The government-operated elementary school, which serves children from nearby towns and villages, has struggled for years with staff working unpaid, limited classroom seating, and insufficient supplies.
Registrar Mulbah Gibson told the Liberian Investigator that for over three academic years, students have been forced to sit on the floor during lessons because there are no chairs.
“The children can be seated on the bare floor right in front of the chalkboard. This has been happening for more than three years, and the school does not have money to provide chairs on behalf of the government,” Gibson said, adding that the situation has led some parents to withdraw their children.
While the school has 11 teachers, Gibson said only three are on the government payroll; the rest work unpaid. “We are only three on payroll, and nowhere in this world can two people, apart from the principal, who doesn’t go into the classrooms, run a whole elementary school,” he said.
Gibson warned that if the government does not address the issue, classes might not resume this year because volunteer teachers are unwilling to keep going without pay. Many have already moved to a gold mining site about three kilometers from Gbarney to find income.
According to Gibson, the Ministry of Education has collected the personal details of the volunteer teachers but has not yet added them to the payroll. Attempts to involve the ministry’s local office in Bong County have resulted in no success.
When contacted, County Education Officer David Boakai refused to comment, calling the inquiry “an embarrassment.”
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