USAID Education Systems strengthening Activity …MOE ends PDIA Workshops, appoints Task Teams in Six Counties and at Central Ministry of Education

 On the 10^th of May 2024, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through USAID Education Systems Strengthening Activity (USAID ESSA), concluded a series of seven problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) inception training workshops. This included 20 officials from the central Ministry of Education (MoE) and 44 officials from County Education Offices in Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado 1 and 2, and Nimba. The training sessions took place between April 1 – May 10, 2024.

The workshops equipped participants with key concepts, core principles, and hands-on knowledge needed to apply PDIA—a locally led framework and process for solving complex problems, to catalyze change and generate sustainable solutions to persistent education system challenges. The workshop also facilitated the establishment of task teams responsible for leading PDIA initiatives to address information, resource management, and accountability constraints in their counties and within the central ministry. These task teams consist of no more than seven members each – poised to leverage resources from USAID ESSA’s PDIA Innovation Fund. The most promising innovations will be scaled and institutionalized by the ministry, including through annual national and county education plans.

In remarks provided at the central level workshop in Montserrado County on May 9, 2024, USAID Contracting Officer Representative, Ms. Katelyn Runyan – Gless emphasized the critical importance of addressing the challenges of not only ensuring that school-age children are present in schools but that they are also actively engaged in learning. She also said, the PDIA approach indeed provides a practical framework for addressing complex problems with local actors in the driver’s seat, something she looks forward to through ESSA’s intervention.

Similarly, at the central MoE inception workshop, the Deputy Minister of Education for Instruction, Mr. Amos Armah Fully, serving as the acting minister, recognized the longstanding support provided by USAID to the Government of Liberia in the education sector. He acknowledged USAID’s dedication to collaborating with the MoE to strengthen institutional weaknesses within the education system, citing the support recently provided through the Liberia Teacher Training Program (LTTP).

USAID ESSA is a five-year activity that partners with the Ministry of Education to enhance the Liberian education system at the county and district levels, to drive, measure and incentivize the delivery of quality and inclusive education. Its vision is a dynamic and resilient education ecosystem that provides quality, equitable and inclusive services and has the tools to continue to innovate, adapt and improve in the future.