By: Joe Noutoua Wandah
MONROVIA-This dispensation of Liberians, since she returns to civility after her senseless fourteen-plus years of self-destructions both infurstructurely and human resource wise research has shown that the merits systems don’t work in all facets of her working environment!
Let’s retrospect into historicity, dating back from the ’60s, ’70s, and the early part of the 80’s I vividly record that the Nation (Liberia) was driven by professional careers and merit-oriented workforces in all sectors!
People were brought on board both in the private and public sectors from cadets levels while still in grade schools to know of the technical intricacies that run those specific departments up to when their graduation in those specified fields!
The Liberian production’s industrial sectors at the time were fond of reaching out to various vocational training institutions to get students in different fields of study in doing their practicals leading to their graduation. Said group of students was hired by those industries in boosting their human resources capacity to enhance their productivity in meeting the demands of their market.
There are so many instances of the professional merits systems at the time in Liberia but I choose to just mention one; I remembered my late uncle John Gomah Wandah Sr. may his soul rest in peace, as a cadet joined Johansen a German company that dealt in Vorwargon cars based in Monrovia precisely Water street. Mr. Wandah was sent to Germany for advanced studies in his field as a professional Machanic and upon his return sent to the then famous LAMCO then based in Northeastern Liberia Nimba County since this mining company dealt in German cars as one of the focus persons!
This aspect of developing professionals pays a lot to the productive sectors of the Liberian work-forces as the result Liberian professionals were exported to other Nations to serve and products to a larger extent were exported to the international markets! Trust me, most of our predecessors were not Master’s degree holders as compared to today, but we’re career-oriented people with a passion for the jobs to serve in selling Liberia to the competing jobs markets globally!
Coming back to this dispensation, where computers have made everything very easy in terms of learning all that we see are that most Liberians are interested in degrees from various universities and colleges but not to allow themselves to be thoroughly driven through the requisite foundations of education to be on pal with their colleagues around the globe!
The most frustrating aspects are, some of these universities or colleges themselves don’t have qualified professors with experience yet seem to teach major courses to the detriment of our learning arena! As a result, students pretend to learn whiles teachers pretend to teach just for the monies! Guessed what! After these colorful graduations, said students get jobs as Managers, Director, Executive Directors to name just few due to their parties affiliations or relationship in various public and private sectors to the detriments of the Nation called (Liberia) that stands to be the biggest loser in all aspects of a sound Nation amongst the Nations of World!
As, was said once upon a time by the 23rd President of the Republic of Liberia “Liberians students are interested in the papers from the various universities and colleges not the education they got to offer”
There is a clearer indication that this Nation Liberia is doomed especially when we as people have killed the appetites for professionalism, merits systems, passion-driven people for the betterment of their Nation etc!
This dispensation has boasted about putting out millions of graduates just on paper in most cases we are not just up to the tasks when the opportunities avail themselves to perform on the larger international/national stages! What a sad day for us as Africa’s oldest but not colonized Nation!
Research has shown that, not many Liberians actually venture in the international jobs markets for reasons I am still researching! I again recalled, years backed when the Honorable now Senator with the ECOWAS parliament said ” that lots of positions are at ECOWAS but Liberians are not venturing in these areas” What has gone wrong that the only important aspect nowadays in our working environments is survivability and not professionally careers driven people whose common goal should be to compete for higher posts in the international jobs market through the merits systems as the common practice’s the world over?
This practice in giving graduates with no absolute experience titles jobs that require the merits systems is the more dangerous practice ever in the forward march of this Nation (Liberia)! If we want professionalism let’s re-institute the spirit of cadets which got to do with the merits systems as the best antidote to better Nation’s building provided we want to attract competitors in global competitions.
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