Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is 3 years old. In 2022, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary (both sexes) was 25%.
Governance
In Liberia, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is the central authority responsible for the financing, oversight, and strategic direction of public education across all levels, from pre-primary to secondary schools. The Ministry sets national policies, standards, and curricula, manages the education budget, and coordinates programmes to improve quality and access. The MoE is also the lead ministry of the 2011 National Inter-sectoral Policy on Early Childhood Development. The policy further established a National Inter-sectoral Committee on Early Childhood Education, which is responsible for developing targeted programs that ensure early childhood education services are reaching disadvantaged groups in Liberia.
Early childhood education, which officially covers the ages 3-5 (Kindergarten I – III), is not free or compulsory, and is not considered a part of ‘basic education’ in the country. On top of a capped annual fee (covering operational costs), parents may also pay registration, transportation, and uniform fees in public institutions.
It was formally recognised as part of the education system in Liberia in the 2011 Education Reform Act, leading to the establishment of the Bureau of Early Childhood within the MoE. The Bureau of Early Childhood Education was allocated a separate line in the national budget for the first time in 2019.
Tuition-free status
Pre-primary education is not universally tuition free in Liberia.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
While the central Ministry retains overall authority, responsibilities for pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, and secondary education are increasingly decentralised to counties and districts. No structured funding formula has been publicly documented.
2. Education resources to institutions
Government funding for the pre-primary education sector remains largely focused on salary spending (98%), with financing of non-salary-related spending almost entirely donor dependent. There are three main sources of funding for public pre-primary education in Liberia: the government (only in the payment of teacher salaries), development partners, and households. In the 2011 Education Reform Act, government support for the sector is also officially only recognised for teacher colleges and other accredited institutions producing teachers for the pre-primary education sector.
Donor-funded pre-primary education interventions include GPE-funded pre-primary school grants aimed at reducing pre-primary education fees in targeted counties that previously struggled to access these services, and community-based early childhood education centres in vulnerable, resource-scarce communities and remote rural areas with large numbers of out-of-school children aged 3-5.
Partnership for Schools Liberia
Partnership for Schools (PSL) Liberia are selected early childhood and primary state schools that were contracted in management and operation to eight non-state operators (ranging from local non-profit organizations to for-profit multinational low-fee private school chains) based on a competitive bidding process with the aim to improve student learning outcomes in Liberia. Roughly half of their student population are pre-primary education learners. Pre-primary education is provided tuition-free in these schools (with school operators additionally required to offer students textbooks and uniforms free of charge). To cover their costs, these schools receive annual per-student subsidies from third party donors, in addition to an annual state subsidy which covers staff and maintenance costs. Teacher salaries in PSL pre-primary education centres are paid by the state.
Following the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022, where the government was encouraged to devote more attention to early childhood education, pre-primary education registration fees were subsidised by the government in 2023 in an effort to increase access to early childhood education for all children. The 2022/23 – 2026/27 Education Sector Plan further aims to strengthen public early childhood education provision by expanding capitation grants, reducing or removing fees in public centres, and subsidising pre-primary children to enroll in non-public schools in areas where public schools are not accessible.
The 2011 National Inter-sectoral Policy on Early Childhood Development also aimed to target the poor and most vulnerable learners, with one of its objectives being the construction of new early childhood development centres to cover 70% of the most needy areas of Liberia.
3. Education resources to students and families
There are currently no government subsidies for children or families to attend pre-primary education. However, one of the objectives of the 2022/23 – 2026/27 Education Sector Plan is to subsidise pre-primary children to enroll in non-public schools in areas where public schools are not accessible.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
There is no government-funded social protection programme that explicitly aims to enroll children in pre-primary education. The Street Child Project, managed by the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection in partnership with Street Child Liberia, aims to enroll children in basic education (primary and lower secondary levels).
