All 25,000 students fail college entrance exam

Suddenly American Schools Look Good

Out of 25,000 students not one passed the

entrance exam for college.

Nearly 25,000 students failed the test for admission to the University of Liberia, one of two state-run universities.  But at least in Liberia they actually fail students.  In the U.S. every student would have been passed and then been given a trophy to improved their self esteem.

The students lacked enthusiasm and did not have a basic grasp of English, a university official told the BBC.

Liberia is recovering from a brutal civil war that ended a decade ago.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate, recently acknowledged that the education system was still in a "in a mess", and much needed to be done to improve it reports the BBC News.

Many schools lack basic education material and teachers are poorly qualified, reports the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh reports from the capital, Monrovia.

However, this is the first time that every single student who wrote the exam for a fee of $25 (£16) has failed, our reporter says.

It means that the overcrowded university will not have any new first-year students when it reopens next month for the academic year, he adds.

Students told him the result was unbelievable and their dreams had been shattered, our reporter says.

Education Minister Etmonia David-Tarpeh told the BBC Focus on Africa programme that she intended to meet university officials to discuss the failure rate.

"I know there are a lot of weaknesses in the schools but for a whole group of people to take exams and every single one of them to fail, I have my doubts about that," Ms David-Tarpeh said. "It's like mass murder."

Ms David-Tarpeh said she knew some of the students and the schools they attended.

"These are not just schools that will give people grades. I'd really like to see the results of the students," she added.

University spokesman Momodu Getaweh told BBC Focus on Africa that the university stood by its decision, and it would not be swayed by "emotion".

"In English, the mechanics of the language, they didn't know anything about it. So the government has to do something," he said.

"The war has ended 10 years ago now. We have to put that behind us and become realistic."


The New University of Liberia 

Flag of Liberia, founded by freed American slaves.

The University of Liberia
The school is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the school opened in 1863 as Liberia College and became a university in 1951.  The University of Liberia has six colleges, three professional schools (including a law school and medical school), and three graduate programs with a total of approximately 18,000 students.
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 In 1847, Liberia declared its independence from the American Colonization Society. In 1851 the new national legislature authorized the creation of a state college and chartered Liberia College. Financing was provided by the New York Colonization Society and the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia, both United States organizations. These two groups provided almost all of the funds for the school during the 19th century and were responsible for hiring the faculty.

President James Monroe
Founded in 1822,  Monrovia is named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe, a prominent supporter of the colonization of Liberia. Along with Washington, D.C., it is one of two national capitals to be named after a U.S. President.
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Monrovia was founded thirty years after Freetown, Sierra Leone, the first permanent Black American settlement in Africa.