We have completed a Higher Education Transformation Plan Toward a More Relevant and Competitive Quality Output for National Development 2022-2026 and the plan has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance, Development and Planning for budgetary support to enable the commission to implement it.
Establish mechanism for effective delivery of quality outputs at HEIs
A. Establish quality assurance cells and train responsible staff at various HEIs to ensure the delivery of quality educational outputs;
B. Pursue intensive programs for faculty and staff development, and coordinate these development opportunities through institutional cooperation and collaboration;
C. Establish and/or equip standardized facilities, such as libraries and laboratories (including nursing demonstration labs) to enrich practical and hands-on learning.
2. Standardize/harmonize higher education curricula to provide regionally competitive programs
A. Revise, reorient, and harmonize higher education curricula to ensure uniform and standardized programs that meet regional and international quality, incorporating a more applied approach for relevance to national developmental priorities.
3. Credential Audits And Placements
a)Conduct intensive credential verification of staff credentials to establish the authenticity of qualification and placements;
b)Verify placement of faculty to ensure that qualified lecturers are given assignments with respect to their areas of specialties;
c)Ensure that faculty at various HEIs are recruited/hired and promoted based upon engaging in and publishing research works;
d)Establish a database of researchers and their expertise available in Liberia;
e)Establish a database of needed projects and ideas to be researched;
f)Create a research culture to undertake meaningful and relevant research that contributes to an understanding and solution of the myriad of societal problems;
g)Organize conferences and workshops to encourage and equip researchers and their research works;
h)Engage in research on the unique situations and resources in Liberia, such as, agriculture, mining, disadvantaged children, gender, drugs, etc. appropriate to their size and areas of focus.
4. Strengthening the digital capacities of higher education institutions to provide ICT education
A.Equip HEIs with functioning IT infrastructure, including internet connectivity and computers;
B.Collaborate across institutions to facilitate the building and integration of ICT into the higher education system and train faculty, staff, and students to utilize the technology in education;
C.Provide support to strengthen/upgrade HEIs provision of online learning platforms and e-libraries for students regardless of gender and disability status;
D.Mainstream digital into all existing curricula to ensure basic digital literacy for all University graduates regardless of gender and disability status;
E.Monitor proper mainstreaming of digital literacy programs in all HEIs through review of curriculum and on-the-spot visits;
i.Revise/repeal the 1989 NCHE Act to provide for a more viable and effective regulatory agency to meet contemporary realities in higher education;
ii.Raise the budgetary support to NCHE to facilitate the recruitment of additional staff, procurement of logistics, and training of staff;
iii.Equip the NCHE with Internet facility to enhance information dissemination;
iv.Establish/construct a Higher Education Center, to host the Central Office of the National Commission on Higher and other facilities of HE needs. The NCHE Secretariat itself should be well resourced and sustained.
5. Improving the regulatory authority of the NCHE to deliver
i.Revise/repeal the 1989 NCHE Act to provide for a more viable and effective regulatory agency to meet contemporary realities in higher education;
ii.Raise the budgetary support to NCHE to facilitate the recruitment of additional staff, procurement of logistics, and training of staff;
iii.Equip the NCHE with Internet facility to enhance information dissemination;
iv.Establish/construct a Higher Education Center, to host the Central Office of the National Commission on Higher and other facilities of HE needs. The NCHE Secretariat itself should be well resourced and sustained.
6. Empowering the higher education sector to deliver quality and relevant
education outputs
A.Provide subsidies to private and faith-based HEIs, through the NCHE, for project-based activities that contribute significantly to sustaining a comprehensive higher education system;
B.Establish international university cooperation partnerships at regional and global levels to strengthen academic offer and explore the potential for research and capacity development;
C.Collaborate with donor agencies to secure additional development and endowment funds;
D.Collaborate with the private sector to utilize their specialized skills, engage in teaching assignments, and provide internships, service-learning experiences, and fund programs to meet their needs.
7.NCHE Higher Education Management Information Statistics (HEMIS) database designed
and operationalized
A.Conduct training for selected staff on HEMIS data collection, including enumerators from NCHE and HEIs;
B.Conduct HEMIS Census across HEIs every two years in order to have institutional level data to ensure the vitality and viability of the system, (consultancy, training, field work, analyses, reporting, printing & publication);
C.Data analysis though training of key NCHE staff (2-week training on Excel with the support of a national consultant). Every other year.
8. Regular monitoring of institutions for compliance annually
A.Conduct regular monitoring activities to ensure compliance of HEIs with prescribed standards.
Take the appropriate steps to promote the image of Liberia HE system externally
I.Establish accreditation unit within the NCHE to ensure institutional and program quality to meet national, regional, and global standards;
II.Undertake periodic review of the national education policy to be responsive to evolving national and regional needs;
III.Establish criteria for ranking of institutions.
10. Programs developed on the skills demands needed for the job market
A.Conduct a survey to shortlist the demand-driven skills for the labor market, and analyze gendered barriers for women and men to include non-traditional skills that will help empower especially the women;
B.Select and Train teachers in the sub-region to get relevant skills (2 teachers per program, over two years).
11. Monitoring activities conducted at HEIs, with 25% HEIs visited annually
A.Conduct regular monitoring activities to ensure compliance of HEIs with prescribed standards – spot check
12. Public-Private Sector Partnerships (PPPs) established by HEIs to enhance job placements for graduates
a.Establish international partnerships with institutions to facilitate faculty/student exchange, program accreditation, sustainability, etc.;
b.Establish national partnerships with private employers to provide internships and/or concrete employment opportunities for higher education graduates;
c.Organize a one-day career day each year where future graduates meet with prospective employers once a year.
13. Establishing frameworks on financing higher education
a.Establish Awareness raising campaigns in rural setting to inform about the scholarship and encourage females and SWDs to enroll in HEIs (radio announcements, jingoes, seminar organization)
14. Providing access to HE opportunity for persons with disability
A.Provide local and international scholarships to students in higher education;
B.Provide subsidies to institutions on basis of programs and/or projects that are assessed and approved by the NCHE;
C.Provide local scholarships covering living costs to promote access to HE of under-represented groups, with focus on female students from rural areas and students with disabilities.
15. Ensure equitable access to higher education by vulnerable and inclusive students, such as females, visually impaired, physically challenged, and other groups
A.Ensure equitable access to higher education for the vulnerable and inclusive population (e.g., disabled, females, mentally challenged, visually challenged, physically challenged, and economically disadvantaged).
16. Put in place mechanism to guide the enrollment and retention of vulnerable and inclusive students
A.Discuss and establish transfer and articulation agreements between institutions;
B.Adapt the code of conduct for HEIs staff, including administrators, through a workshop involving the NCHE and HEIs, with reference to students with disabilities.
In our continuing efforts to reform the higher education system of Liberia, we will begin shutting down bogus institutions of higher learning in the country that are operating illegally and giving vain credentials to students.
Thank you!