“Don’t issue Appointment, Dismissal or Transfer letters” -MOE Orders Local Education Authorities

The Ministry of Education has given a strong warning to local education officers and public school workers not to issue any letter for appointment, dismissal or transfers to teachers and other staff under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and that the exercise should only be done by the Minister of Education or the Deputy Minister of Education for Administration.

In a terse memo signed by Mr. Latim Dathong, Acting Minister of Education, dated March 23, 2022 read in part, “With immediate effect, all appointment, dismissal, and transfer letters must be signed by the Minister of Education or Deputy Minister for Administration. Any employee who receives such letter without the authorities signatures stated above, must not comply; such person should report matters to the office of the Deputy Minister for Administration by calling (0886889910)”

It also said that all appointments, dismissals and transfers must be communicated to the central office for approval before implementation.

Though the communication did not give details why the decision was taken, stakeholders in the education sector are of the opinion that it may not be unconnected to the huge number of persons especially teachers across the country who are not on the official payroll from the Ministry of Education but making claims that they are owed salaries running into months and there has not been any remedy from the government through the Ministry of Education.

Some of the teachers are said to be in possession of appointment or transfer letters signed by local education authorities giving effect to their engagements as authentic employees with the Ministry of Education. While others are said to have been handed dismissal letters by the local authorities without the consent of the central authorities in Monrovia and their salaries end up in the wrong hands, with suspicion being linked to the local authorities.

The new mandate is said to hold a promise for a transparent engagement process since decisions handled by the Minister or his principal Deputy Minister directly will be binding on all parties.