The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Girls' Opportunities to Access Learning (GOAL), the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the United States Agency for International Development has ended a one-day stakeholders' consultative meeting aimed at revamping the education sector of the country. The one-day consultative meeting was held at the Corina Hotel in Sinkor, Monrovia.

In a chat with this paper following the meeting, the Acting Assistant Minister for Basic and Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education, Madam Felicia Sackey Doe-Somah, said government together with its partners are designing a strategy geared towards getting children in school at the right age.

According to Madam Doe-Somah, at the age of six years, a child should be able to complete elementary education, but noted that the case of Liberia is different.

She observed that children in the country begin their education sojourn very late and in the end, graduate at a very old age.

She observed that education is the backbone of the economic growth of any nations, and as such, if Liberia is to truly develop, it must conform to the contemporary word.

"Here, in Liberia, you see people graduating from high school at a very old age simply because they started their education very late. This is why we are trying to put place modern techniques in our education system," she stated.

"One of the very good programs we are designing is an accelerated form of education. Our idea is to get children enrolled in school at their right ages. One who does not get enrolled at his r her right age will not sit in class with the other students, but would go though the accelerated program," she added.

For her part, Madam Julia Richards of USAID underscored the need for girl child education.

She observed that educating a girl child is like educating a whole nation.

She then called on the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Education to prioritize the education of children at their young ages, especially for girl children.