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Liberia College in 1862. Elementary and secondary school
education was then still in an embryonic stage in the Republic
(see above). Only two high schools with an enrolment of less than
50 students existed at the time when Liberia College opened its
doors (59). As stated before, the programme offered mainly served
the purpose of educating people to. govern the country. The
mulatto segment of the settlers' community was for a long time
over-represented in the student population of the College (60).
This was due to the' fact that this group of Liberians dominated
the country's politics during the corresponding period.
Liberia College was a liberal arts college largely based on the
classical tradition. In 1951 it was incorporated into the
University of Liberia, established in that year. In 1963 there
were five degree granting Colleges forming the University of
Liberia (although the degrees granted did not go beyond a
Bachelor's degree): (1) the Liberal Arts College; (2) the
Teachers College; (3) the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law; (4)
the College of Forestry, and (5) the College of Agriculture.
Liberia's second institution of higher education in 1963 was
"Cuttington College and Divinity School". It had opened its doors
for the first time in Harper, Maryland County, in 1889.
Originally a missionary institution, it later received annual
subsidies from the Liberian Government. Initially its programme
emphasized theology and liberal arts but after re-opening - it
had been forced to close down between 1928 and 1949 owing to
lack of money - the programme was changed and also included the
training of teachers and agricultural technicians.
The country's third degree granting institution was "Our Lady of
Fatima", in Harper, which had trained teachers since its
establishment in 1953. However, in 1963 the institution was
considered to have an insufficient number of students and faculty
members to justify its existence and expenses (61).
Unfortunately, the 1963 Survey did not include detailed
information on the subject.
In 1963 there were 321 students enrolled in the University of
Liberia. The Liberal Arts College enrolled some 50 per cent of
all students of the University. There were 150 students enrolled
in Cuttington College (62).
Adult Education and Other Educational
Activities of the Government
In 1950 President Tubman had officially launched a nation-wide
literacy campaign. In 1963 there were only 250 Adult Education
teachers with an average of twenty adult students to one teacher
(63). Along with the literacy campaign a Community Education