Liberia: NCHE Invalidates Four Colleges Accreditation

Authorities at the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) have invalidated the accreditations of four higher learning institutions in the country.

The institutions include Vision International Christian College of Liberia, Paynesville Town Hall Community, Leigh-Sherman Community College, Paynesville, Christian Theological Seminary, Jamaica Road, and St. Clements University College.

A statement signed and released on December 6, by the NCHE Director-General, Professor Lama Wonkeryor, indicated that those institutions do not meet the standards that qualify the operations of higher learning institutions.

“As the result of the inspection being carried out at the institutions’ learning facilities, campuses, statuses of accreditation with the NCHE, and the lack of compliance to the NCHE’s regulations, among several others,” he said. 

Mr. Wonkeryor has warned the public and interested persons wishing to transact businesses with the institutions in question not to do so.

“We want the public to discontinue businesses effective immediately until the statuses of accreditation of these institutions are revalidated by the NCHE. “Let it be known that the institutions mentioned above were inspected by the Quality Assurance Department of the National Commission on Higher Education on April 13, 2021,” he added. 

The concerned institutions, he said, were found inapt regarding their campuses, learning facilities, including expiration of their accreditation permits, and noncompliance to the annual higher education service fees paid to the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA).  However, Prof. Wonkeryor, said the NCHE Secretariat provided a six-month ultimatum for these institutions to regularize their statuses and put in place the relevant issues that were flagged. Contrarily, these institutions blatantly failed to comply with the directives of the NCHE. 

He said, “While the NCHE continues to affect its full mandates, it stands resolute to take all appropriate actions on institutions in noncompliance with the NCHE’s regulatory functions, including non-accredited operating higher education institutions. Hence, the above-mentioned institutions no longer exist among the lists of licensed and accredited institutions by the NCHE within the Republic of Liberia.” 

The NCHE Director General further said if these concerned institutions’ managements desire to operate accredited programs in the future within the Republic of Liberia, they will be subjected to reapply and shall be assessed by the “Policy for Licensing Institutions to Conduct Post-Secondary Education and Training in Liberia.” 

Prof. Wonkeryor added that the NCHE is conducting routine inspections on all licensed and accredited institutions in Liberia, to ensure that higher educational quality provision is prioritized by licensed and accredited higher learning institutions. 

He also used the medium to advise all illegal institutions of higher learning operating in Liberia must, with an immediate effect, desist from such practice. He said violators will be subjected to the mandates and policy of the NCHE governing the operations of higher education institutions in Liberia.