PAYNESVILLE CITY, MONTSERRADO COUNTY, LIBERIA-President Joseph Boakai has described quality education as the greatest tool any country can use to achieve meaningful and sustainable national development.

President Boakai warned that training poor engineers and incompetent doctors will gradually pull Liberia down, regardless of how rich and abundant the country’s natural endowments may be.

He said,” My administration has deliberately placed education at the heart of its national ARREST agenda, and it is central to Liberia’s transformation and prosperity”.

The Liberian Leader praised Covenant Academy’s founders for the outstanding quality of its infrastructure, noting that raising such funds demands extraordinary sacrifice and uncommon personal determination.

President Boakai made the declaration on Saturday, June 6, 2026, while dedicating the Covenant Academy school on Duport Road, Paynesville, urging Liberians to treat education as a serious national priority.

In a related development, Education Minister, Dr. Jarso Jallah, has challenged the leadership of Covenant Academy to make improving learning outcomes their greatest responsibility. Dr. Jallah said the success of any school is not determined by the beauty of its buildings but by the quality of teaching that takes place inside its classrooms every single day.

She told teachers and administrators directly that their daily dedication to students will matter far more than any ribbon-cutting, photographs, or celebration the school will ever hold.

The Minister said private schools like Covenant Academy are vital partners in the government’s effort to expand access to quality education and raise standards across the entire country.

Dr. Jallah also commended the founders of the school, Reverend Samuel Mbayo and his wife, for their vision and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Rev. Mbayo has called on diaspora Liberians to return home and invest meaningfully in the development of their country.

Rev. Mbayo, who left his pastoral career in Minnesota to build a school in Liberia, said:” Every diaspora Liberian carries a responsibility to contribute something tangible to national growth, and the Covenant Academy, built against all odds with limited resources, proves that determination and faith can deliver world-class education infrastructure anywhere in Liberia”.

According to him, the institution on Duport Road, Paynesville, is designed to provide quality education to every child regardless of their social and economic background.

Rev. Mbayo made the call Saturday at the dedication ceremony of the academy, which was graced by President Joseph Boakai and other senior government officials.