In 2016, Liberia’s President and its Ministry of Education announced Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL), an innovative public private partnership designed to transform the primary public education system. Eight education providers – with proven track records in delivering high-quality education – were paired with public primary schools across Liberia; while teachers remained on the Government payroll.
After a change of national Government, PSL became the Liberian Education Advancement Programme (LEAP). LEAP is now in its fifth year, with four remaining providers. Bridge Liberia is the largest provider and is delivering statistically significant learning gains.
Bridge Liberia schools are based in some of the most remote counties, such as Maryland in the south-east. Government teachers have been re-trained, supported and equipped to succeed in the classroom.
Four Independent Studies and Randomised Control Trials have shown the efficacy of the programme. Bridge Liberia has evidenced a statistically significant improvement in learning outcomes. In a gold standard RCT, students in Bridge Liberia supported public schools were found to benefit by an equivalent of 2.5 years more of learning in just 3 years.
As a result of their effectiveness, many Bridge Liberia policies have been adopted into the broader Education system by the Ministry of Education; including a longer school day.
The programme was designed to be financially self-sustaining once the Ministry of Education raises its education budget to $100 a student per year; until that moment it remains reliant on philanthropic support.
Today, Bridge Liberia works across the country, in 11 of Liberia’s 15 counties, to ensure that all children have access to a high quality education and that Sustainable Development Goal 4 becomes a reality for all children in Liberia.
