In Liberia, education key to reducing poverty

The Liberian government has been advised to strive to provide free education or a minimum cost education as a means of reducing poverty in the country. A Liberian national, Gester E. Murray advised that this will help promote national security, peace, and development.

Murray, Assistant Minister of Land and Mine and Energy, made the disclosure Tuesday at the Monrovia City Hall. Speaking on the theme, “Statement on Educational Enlightenment,” Murray said education provides a road map to survive in a competing world of depleting resources.

He noted that the higher a country's illiteracy rate, the more its power base is emasculated, and the more vulnerable it becomes to the predator-prey relationship. If Liberia is to survive in the current global system of increasing competitiveness and rapid development, he advised that pragmatic and robust actions must be taken to increase the country’s literacy mainly through expanded educational funding. Read more on Murray’s speech at allAfrica.com.