Summary:
- The University of Liberia launched doctoral programs on October 24
- The Executive Mansion claims that the launch of the Doctoral Programs at the University of Liberia is the first of its kind in the country’s history.
- We have fact-checked this statement and found it to be misleading.
On October 24, Executive Mansion-Liberia posted a release on its official Facebook page claiming that President Joseph Boakai had launched “Liberia’s First Doctoral Program at the University of Liberia”.
Claim
The excerpt from the post reads: “President Boakai Launches Liberia’s First Doctoral Programs at the University of Liberia.”
Rating Justification
To fact-check this claim, we first reached out to Kula Fofana, the Presidential Press Secretary, via WhatsApp to clarify the context of the claim. But we have yet to receive a response. We will update this report if she replies.
We then conducted several online searches and found multiple local media reports stating that the first Doctoral program in Liberia was launched at Cuttington University in 2023.
A news article published by FrontPage Africa on May 29, 2023, reported “Cuttington University Launches First Doctoral Program in Liberia”.
Other media institutions, including Heritage and The New Republic, also reported on this launch.
The New Republic’s news article “Cuttington Launches Doctoral Program” published on May 25, 2023,m highlighted a statement by former President of the University of Liberia Dr. Julius Sawolo Nelson, terming the launch as historic.
Conclusion
Based on the research conducted, we conclude that the claim the Doctoral Program at the University of Liberia is the first in the country is misleading. Cuttington Graduate School launched the first doctoral program in 2023 and not the University of Liberia.
