The Necessity of Vocational Education in Liberia

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GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA GPED 607: EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION Samuel Mawolo Johnson I.D. #: 15638 The Necessity of Vocational Education in Liberia Over the years, I have observed that the Liberian educational system up to the high school level is mainly geared toward producing functionally literate citizens with no specific vocational skills. Consequently, high school graduates find it extremely difficult to be absorbed in the local job market. In my opinion, in this modern era where emphasis is placed on technological advancement, obtaining an education that emphasizes only the basic requirements of reading, writing arithmetic, history, etc., is not sufficient. Nearly two weeks ago, I conducted an informal survey of 150 high school graduates from various communities in the Logan Town area, where I live. Findings from the survey show that 82.7% (or 124 graduates) applied for jobs after high school, but only 29.8% of those who applied (or 37 graduates) were employed. Furthermore, the findings show that of the 37 employed graduates, 15 had some formal training in computer operations, and were employed mainly as receptionists or office assistants; while the remaining 22 were employed in non-specific skilled jobs like bar tenders, restaurant waiters, and so on. The rest of the 87 (or 70.2%) job applicants did not have any vocational skills. This lack of vocational skills was perhaps the reason for their not being employed. It is my conviction that if one were to extrapolate the findings in the above survey to the national scene, the picture would not be significantly different. It is abundantly clear that high school education in Liberia is grossly inadequate to meet the demands of the modern day job market. There is thus the need for a paradigm shift in the educational program design at the high school level in Liberia. The

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