The Salvation Army started working in Liberia in May 1988, about 18 months before the country was plunged into a deadly civil war that lasted for 14 years. The crisis is considered one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars and was fought from 1989 to 2003 with most of the country’s infrastructure severely destroyed. The education sector was amongst the most affected, leaving behind a huge need for learning facilities throughout the country. The Salvation Army quickly identified the need to contribute towards the provision of quality education.
In 1992, The Salvation Army started its first school in Monrovia, the capital city. This initiative was gradually extended to other parts of the country and has grown to a school system consisting of 13 learning institutions – mostly built during the civil conflict – which includes three primary, four junior secondary, five senior secondary and one tertiary learning institution. There are 5,289 students enrolled in Salvation Army schools in Liberia with 386 administrative, instructional and support staff.
The school system provides quality education with strong discipline and has gained an admirable reputation in the country among the leading educational providers. The Salvation Army schools in Liberia have consistently been amongst the best performing schools in public examinations with the schools mostly obtaining 95-100 per cent pass rates annually with many national awards in academic and extracurricular activities.
Most recently, one school produced the best student of geography in the whole of Liberia in addition to several other recognitions in previous years. With a successful record of providing primary and secondary education in the country, The Salvation Army started offering tertiary education in 2018 through its polytechnic facility which offers associate degree programmes. In 2022, the polytechnic received accreditation to offer baccalaureate degree programmes in 10 disciplines.
At the end of 2022, The Salvation Army received three prestigious educational awards: the African Education Legends Award from School Growth International in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the National Association of Liberian School Principals; a civil society organisation, the Society for the Promotion of Peace, National Reconciliation and Reunification also recognised The Salvation Army as the most outstanding educational institution of the year 2022 and the head of the Territorial Education Secretariat was also recognised as the educational director of the year 2022. In January 2023, the school system won the championship in the 2022-2023 annual debate and quiz competition organised by an anticorruption organisation, the Faith and Justice Network, Liberia.
The Salvation Army in Liberia has a vision of reaching many communities in need with quality and affordable education and to extend its services to Sierra Leone and Guinea, regions that are ranked with the lowest literacy and numeracy rates in the world.
