Outsourcing Primary Education in Liberia Leads to Mixed Results

The long-lasting effects of a 14-year civil war, compounded by school closures caused by the 2014 Ebola outbreak, have had a huge impact on Liberia’s education system. In early 2016, the Liberian Ministry of Education announced that it would contract the operation of some government primary schools out to private companies. Researchers working with Innovations for Poverty Action examined the effects of these new partnerships and looked at how the schools deliver (or fail to deliver) better outcomes.