MONROVIA — At the William Gabriel Kpolleh High School in District #13, Montserrado County, students have long begun their mornings with a familiar struggle — the scramble for a chair.
Some stand by classroom doors waiting for a classmate to vacate a seat; others sit on the floor, balancing notebooks on their laps, determined to keep learning despite the odds.
But that familiar scene is expected to change, at least for many of the students, following a donation of 100 wooden armed chairs by Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs, Cornelia Wonkerleh Kruah.
The donation, made on Monday, October 13, 2025, came as a major relief for the only government-run high school serving thousands of students across the district — one of the most densely populated areas of Montserrado County.
“This is the only government school in our district,” Deputy Minister Kruah told the gathering of teachers, students, and local officials during the presentation ceremony. “We decided to make a contribution for the new school year as part of our project — and that intervention begins with providing chairs.”
The gesture is part of the Deputy Minister’s ongoing community initiative aimed at supporting education in District #13 — a constituency she once sought to represent at the Legislature.
But the chairs, she noted, are only one piece of a larger challenge.
“Outside of the lack of chairs, another issue the school has is the sanitation of bathrooms,” Ms. Kruah added. “We intend to lobby and get some support for that. This school houses almost 2,000 students, so it’s important that they have a good learning environment — not just classrooms, but decent bathroom facilities as well.”
She was joined by Montserrado County Superintendent Whroway Bryant, who praised the donation and called on the school’s leadership to ensure proper care and accountability for the new furniture.
“Many thanks for this intervention that will take some of the students from the floor,” Superintendent Bryant said. “In our generation, this is still a challenge. But as long as we who are privileged to be in government are here, we must continue to contribute to society’s growth.”
The Superintendent also promised to send a county team next week to assess the condition of the school’s bathrooms, pledging additional assistance.
For the school’s Principal, the moment could not have been timelier.
“This intervention comes at a time when we are in dire need of chairs,” he said, visibly moved. “Every day, students can be seen running around, saying, ‘Mr. Principal, no chair!’ The ones we bought two years ago are all damaged. So, we are very grateful for this intervention — it will help us a lot.”
The principal said the school continues to struggle with basic facilities and relies largely on community support.
Across Liberia, such challenges are all too common. Public schools in Monrovia and rural counties alike face shortages of chairs, textbooks, and qualified teachers. In many cases, students still sit on floors or share broken desks in overcrowded classrooms.
Education experts have repeatedly urged government and stakeholders to invest more in school infrastructure, noting that a conducive environment is vital for learning and student motivation.
For Deputy Minister Kruah, the donation represents not just charity, but a call for stronger community involvement in public education.
“As government, we can’t do it all at once,” she said. “But each of us can do something — big or small — to make sure our children have a better place to learn. This is just a start.”
As the ceremony ended, students helped carry the new chairs into their classrooms, their laughter echoing across the untiled compound. For them, this was more than furniture — it was a sign of hope that someone was listening to their every morning fight: “Mr. Principal, no chair oh.”
