Liberia: Education Challenges Threaten River Gee Young Generation – Senator Jaye

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River Gee County Senator Matthew Jaye sees the lack of education for many youths in the county as a threat, which if not tackled, could cause the young generation to be lost in the not too distant future, a LINA report on Thursday said.

In an interview at his Capitol Building office recently, Senator Jaye regretted that it is difficult to get young people in the county to pursue advanced education or do anything because some of them who have graduated from high school do not have any engagement.

There is no community college – nor there any TVET program – in the county. The only post-high school institution in the county is the “C” Certificate-level Webbo Teacher Training Institute. High school graduates not desiring to become teachers must leave the county to pursue higher education or end up in the streets, ride motorcycles, or go to gold fields in order to earn money, while others do nothing at all.

“In order to address this situation, more needs to be done to get these young people to develop the urge to pursue education which is vital to the growth and development of any society,” Senator Jaye pointed out.

He stressed the need to begin encouraging these young people who are the future leaders of the county by providing them opportunities to access vocational and academic education.

The Senator disclosed that during the county council sitting, they as lawmakers prioritized three major areas to be tackled to move the county towards development. He named these areas as education, health and agriculture, noting that they are making interventions to help government tackle these areas.

Speaking on the issue of health, Senator Jaye told the Liberia News Agency that this issue is also a great challenge to the county. He said River Gee used to have three doctors but that currently the county has only one doctor which, he noted, is very bad for a struggling county.

According to him, if the youths are empowered, the county will benefit greatly in the health, education and infrastructural development sectors.

Jaye explained that the issue of health and education are sensitive and delicate issues which every Liberian, including the people of River Gee, should prioritize.

He pointed out that if they succeed in getting youths of the county to focus on education, those sensitive issues that the county is struggling with will be at their advantage.

As part of efforts to have River Gee achieve these goals, Senator Jaye said he strongly supports President Weah’s Pro- Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development which, he noted, is in the best interest of all Liberians who desire development.

He said he is also working with the Executive branch of government to see that vocational schools are established in the county so that the youths who cannot travel to Monrovia to access higher education or vocational training will benefit from adequate and affordable education.

Meanwhile, Senator Jaye is calling on citizens of River Gee to support this Pro-Poor government and work with their lawmakers to foster development in the county.