MONROVIA – The Civil Service Agency (CSA) has issued a strong caution to faculty members at public universities and colleges against participating in a reported nationwide “go-slow” that is said to be in the works.
In a circular memorandum dated September 26, 2025, CSA Director-General Josiah F. Joekai, Jr. said the Agency had received reports of faculty members planning to disrupt learning activities, though the reasons for the planned action remain unclear. He urged faculty to exercise restraint and continue performing their academic duties without interruption.
“The CSA views such plans with grave concern and hereby strongly advises all faculty members against engaging in any counterproductive course of action,” Joekai noted in the memorandum. He emphasized that civil servants are bound by the CSA Human Resource Policy Manual and the Standing Orders for the Civil Service, stressing that any aggrieved individuals should use the established grievance and redress mechanisms.
He further warned that any instructor or professor who deliberately abandons duty or fails to perform assigned responsibilities would face administrative measures consistent with civil service regulations.
The memorandum, however, sparked stir and controversy on social media, particularly on Facebook, where critics raised questions about the CSA’s warning and its implications for academic freedom.
In response, Director-General Joekai clarified the matter on his official Facebook page on Saturday, September 27, 2025. He dismissed claims of a nationwide threat, saying that no faculty members or employees under the CSA’s authority were being owed.
“Folks, there’s no threat here whatsoever, and fundamentally, we do not owe any faculty members and employees who are in our care. The UL payroll is independently managed by themselves, not the CSA. The CSA manages the county universities and colleges’ payrolls. Their salaries are current, and they operate within the ambit of the Civil Service regulations,” Joekai wrote.
He cautioned faculty at county universities not to join their counterparts at the University of Liberia (UL), stressing that the situations were “absolutely different.” According to him, the new Civil Service structure is “properly structured, professional, orderly, decent, reformed, and fast becoming productive,” with functional systems to address all employee concerns.
Joekai concluded that faculty members and employees under CSA’s supervision understand the situation and will cooperate to ensure that learning continues uninterrupted.
