MONROVIA – The Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) has intensified its call for the resignation or dismissal of University of Liberia President Dr. Layli Maparyan, renewing a dispute that has gripped the country’s largest public university for months.
In astatement posted on its official Facebook page on Monday, September 22, 2025, SUP announced plans to stage another gathering at the Capitol Hill campus on Wednesday, September 24, to press home its demand. The post accused Dr. Maparyan of deceiving students about the reopening of the institution and claimed she has failed to make meaningful progress after more than eight months in office.
“She deceived us about reopening and has made no progress after 8 months of her presidency!” the post declared, signaling what appears to be the student party’s most aggressive push yet against the embattled UL president.
This renewed agitation comes just a week after SUP issued an ultimatum on September 15, 2025, insisting that Dr. Maparyan either step down or be removed by President Joseph Boakai. The party accused her of corruption, incompetence, and outright neglect of student welfare. SUP argued that despite holding urgent consultations with House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon and other members of the House of Representatives, the UL administration moved ahead with reopening the university without addressing what they describe as “pressing concerns” affecting more than 25,000 students.
SUP labeled this decision “a display of arrogance, pomposity, and a complete disregard for academic integrity.”
Led by its chairman, Sylvester Wheeler, the student movement outlined a wide range of grievances. Among them are the reversal of the decision to treat vacation school as a full semester, immediate solutions to add-and-drop challenges, timely uploading of grades to the university portal, and provision of reliable transportation for students commuting to the Fendall campus. They also called for functional campus facilities, safeguards against unlawful employee dismissals, transparent hiring practices, improved security, and the reconstitution of the UL Board of Trustees.
The escalating tensions have already drawn decisive action from the UL administration. On September 12, 2025, the Board of Trustees reaffirmed its earlier 2024 decision to suspend all student political activities on campus. The resolution, signed by Board Chairman Numene H.T. Bartekwa, cited violent clashes between students and security personnel on September 1 and September 11 as evidence of a growing threat to academic stability.
Dr. Maparyan, who assumed office earlier this year amid optimism for reform and modernization, has strongly rejected the allegations. She has vowed not to resign, declaring that she has done nothing wrong and would not allow what she described as unfounded accusations to derail her leadership.
With both sides unwilling to back down, the standoff between SUP and the UL administration continues to intensify, leaving the future of Liberia’s premier university mired in uncertainty.
