Only one student in Liberia, out of 42,000 who sat the annual west African regional examinations, has passed the Division One level exams for entry to university.
Armstrong Gbessagee, 18, from the J. J. Roberts United Methodist School in the capital, Monrovia, spoke to me about his unique feat:
No matter where you are from we are not less, intellectually, than other people from across West Africa. I hope others see this as a motivation. ”
The examinations are held in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, all English-speaking countries, to test students’ knowledge.
In 2013, nearly all 25,000 school-leavers failed the test for admission to the University of Liberia, one of two state-run universities.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf reacted by calling the education system “a mess”.
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