School operators must show flexibility as families struggle to meet fee obligations
Schools across Liberia have reopened their gates for the 2026/2027 academic year, filling classrooms once more with the laughter, chatter, and boundless potential of our nation’s children. Yet, for countless parents and guardians standing at those very gates, this new term has opened not with hope, but with anxiety the familiar, gnawing worry of how to meet the financial demands of their children’s education amid an economy that continues to tighten its grip on ordinary households.
The scene has become painfully familiar. Diligent parents, many juggling multiple informal jobs, hawk their wares until late evening, and stretch already-thin incomes to keep their families afloat only to find that school fees have become a mountain too steep to climb at the start of a term. For the head of household who must choose between buying a bag of rice and settling a tuition bill, the decision is never truly a choice at all.
This is where the true measure of our educational institutions will be tested.
A CALL FOR COMPASSION AND FLEXIBILITY
We commend the school administrators across the country that has shown understanding at the start of this term. But we urge more of them to follow suit. It is our considered position that school operators should exercise forbearance allowing parents who are genuinely struggling to begin the term with whatever they can offer, and to pay the remainder in manageable installments over the weeks and months ahead.
The logic is simple: an empty desk yields no tuition at all, but a child kept in school today will one day contribute to the very economy we all depend upon. A school that embraces flexibility today secures not only its enrollment numbers, but also the loyalty and goodwill of the community it serves.
We are not advocating for the abandonment of financial responsibility. Schools, too, have bills to pay teachers’ salaries, utilities, materials, and maintenance all demand resources. We recognize the immense pressures our school operators face in keeping their institutions viable. Neither side of this equation is without burden.
THE LONG VIEW
This is precisely why we ask for a partnership of patience. We appeal to school proprietors to see beyond the first month’s balance sheet and to recognize the long-term value of a student who, though his family hit hard times, was allowed to remain in the classroom. History has shown that families remember such kindness. Communities rally behind institutions that rally behind them.
To the parents and guardians, we ask equally that you approach school administrators with honesty and openness. Where genuine hardship exists, communicate it. Seek the grace of an installment plan in good faith, and honor the commitments you make. A relationship built on mutual respect between school and home is the surest foundation for a child’s success.
A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Our government, too, must play its part through the timely payment of subventions where applicable, and through policies that ease the crushing weight of educational costs on struggling families. Education is the surest vehicle out of poverty, and no child should be parked at the roadside because of the family they were born into.
As this academic year begins, let us remember that our children are not merely statistics or enrollment figures. They are the future engineers, teachers, doctors, and leaders who will one day rebuild this nation. Every effort we make today to keep them in school is an investment in that brighter tomorrow.
Let those at the helm of our schools open their hearts along with their gates. Allow parents to start small. Allow families to breathe. For when a community lifts its children together, no burden is too heavy to bear and no child is left behind.
The academic year has begun. Let compassion begin with it.