Parents Who Keep Children Out of School Can Be Charged, Education Minister Says

Published: August 7, 2026

MONROVIA — Parents who keep school-age children at home this academic year can be charged with a misdemeanor, Education Minister Jarso M. Jallah said Thursday, as the government moves to scrap registration fees for kindergarten through sixth grade in every public school.

Jallah said the exposure comes from the Education Act, which she quoted: “Any parent who, without just cause and after a written notice from the school requiring the compliance, fails to comply with the free and compulsory attendance requirement of this Act, is guilty of a misdemeanor under the Penal Law of Liberia.”

“So if you do not take your kids to school, and you do not have a reason, a qualified reason for why this child is not in school, you are guilty of a misdemeanor under the Penal Law according to the Education Act,” she said. “So, make sure you send your children to school.”

The provision she read turns on a written notice from the school. Nothing happens to a parent, on the face of the text she quoted, until a school has served that notice and the parent has still not complied.

Jallah said no child from kindergarten through sixth grade will pay registration fees in any public school from the coming academic year, and that school grants financed through the EXCEL Project will cover registration costs and other needs in primary schools nationwide.

“If there is any public school that is asking you to pay registration fees, report that to the Ministry of Education,” she said. Contact details for reporting will be published, she said, without saying when.

She said Liberia has joined the Global School Meals Coalition and committed to feeding 40% of primary school pupils, and that the government aims to reach more than 332,000 primary pupils by 2029, adding about 23,000 each year.