Last week-end, the Liberian minister of Education has initiated the payment of salaries of teachers via Mobile Money. During the launching of this program which currently is at the test stage, Gbovadeh Gbilia, deputy-minister of taxes and human resource development at the ministry of education, said that the government was looking for innovative means to insure that teachers get their salary as practically as possible.

Led in co-ordination with LonestaCell MTN, the public function agency, the ministry of finance and development planning, USAID, the three-month test program aims to reduce distances covered by teachers, to banks to receive their salary. According to the ministry of education, in the most remote parts of the country, teachers have to travel long distances which takes them days to get their salaries. As a result, they are absent from classes and this causes a delay which impacts, negatively, children’s learning process. With Mobile Money, teachers will easily be able to withdraw their salaries.

The ministry of education highlighted that using Mobile Money is not compulsory. You don’t need to close your various bank accounts. Let them opened in case you are tired of using mobile to receive your salary, you can always come back. If you wish to go back to using your bank accounts, send the ministry of education a one-month prior notice, deputy minister Gbovadeh Gbilia told teachers.

To insure that teachers receive their salary in full, the ministry of education has decided to pay withdrawal charges via Mobile Money.