Liberia Government (Monrovia)
8 October 2009
Several Liberian students who have been undergoing graduate and undergraduate studies at various Universities in the United States, China, Morocco, Russian and Ukraine, have called on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to express thanks to the Government of Liberia for the opportunity afforded them to pursue advanced studies..
During a meeting Thursday at the Foreign Ministry, the students praised the Liberian Government for the opportunity to improve their capacity. Despite some difficulties the students said they encountered during their studies abroad, they spoke of their delight to return home to contribute to nation-building.
The students called on the Ministry of Education to create a data base that would track the activities of students abroad for better coordination. The exercise, they say, could help minimize some of the problems students often encounter abroad.
Welcoming the students back home, President Johnson Sirleaf said the need for the enhancement of the nation's human resource capacity is critical to the overall development programs of Government. The President said, given Government's limitation in providing employment for all of its citizens, returning students would be encouraged to seek opportunities in the private sector. Government, the President said, would work along with them to facilitate the process in areas of their expertise.
According to an Executive Mansion release, the President also urged the students to look beyond Monrovia, in keeping with Government's policy, requiring Government sponsored scholarship students to give back to their communities.
The Liberian President spoke of the importance of an institutional coordination between the Civil Service Agency and the Ministry of Labor to better track the skills of students for proper placement.
The President reminded the students of the responsibility to invest in their own education, but assured them that Government would assist in playing its role.
She urged the returning students to exercise patience as the relevant institutions set into motion the framework to have them absorbed within their fields of specialty.
Among the returning students are two females who underwent graduate studies at the Roosevelt University in the United States, under the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Scholarship Program. As part of a scholarship program, five students also underwent graduate studies at Strayer University in the United States. Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees were acquired by the students in a number of areas including, Human Resource Management, Educational administration, Educational Management, Geo Sciences in Mineral Resource, Computer engineering, Macro biology, Marketing and International Relations among others.
Education Minister, Dr. Joseph Korto, who accompanied the students to the meeting with the President, said the scholarship program in Morocco, China, Ukraine, and Russia was part of a bilateral arrangement between Liberia and those countries. Students who worked at institutions prior to their studies have already returned to their respective institutions of employment.
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Interesting article. Would have liked to see who these student were, and who received which degrees.