In summary:
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Musa Hassan Bility, leader of the Citizens Movement for Change, claimed on Prime FM that 80% of teachers in Liberia’s classrooms are volunteers while criticizing the government’s budget priorities.
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However, a review of the Ministry of Education 2025 Annual School Census report shows that of the 61,300 teachers nationwide, 84% are paid or regular and 16% are volunteers.
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In public schools specifically, 38% of the 18,033 teachers are volunteers, making Bility’s 80% claim incorrect.
Representative Musa Hassan Bility, political leader of the Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), has claimed that 80% of the teachers in classrooms in Liberia are volunteers.
He made this claim on February 26 during an appearance on Prime FM, where he criticized the government for what he described as alarming budgetary allocations to certain ministries and agencies, arguing that key sectors such as agriculture and education are not being adequately prioritized.
The Claim
An excerpt of his claim reads: “How can you spend in that form, when you could be pragmatic and use that money? The Ministry of Agriculture is here, put them in the field, and think about how we can help the farmers. Teachers, 80% of the people who go into the classrooms in this country are still volunteer teachers.”
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we reviewed the Ministry of Education (Liberia) 2025 Annual School Census (ASC) Report.
According to the report, the total teaching workforce for the 2024/2025 school year is estimated at 61,300 teachers. Of this number, 84% were reported to be regular or paid teachers, while 16% are volunteers.
The report further indicates that within public schools, 6,865 of the 18,033 teachers, or 38%, are volunteers. Public schools, according to the report, show the highest reliance on volunteer teachers (38%), while community schools also depend significantly on volunteers.
In addition, during President Boakai’s 2025 State of the Nation Address in January 2026, he mentioned that “over 2,000 qualified volunteer teachers were hired across all counties” in 2025.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, Bility’s claim that 80% of teachers in Liberia are volunteers is incorrect.
Official data from the Ministry of Education show that volunteers make up 16% of the overall teaching workforce and 38% of teachers in public schools.
