Principal’s Welcome Message
Dr. Nancy T. Freeman
Principal & Executive Officer
Welcome !
From its establishment, the Institute was named Booker T. Washington Agricultural and Industrial Training Institute. In 1976 the Legislature amended the Institute’s Charter and subsequently it was published into Handbill on June 20, 1977 redesignated the Institute “Booker Washington Institute, Inc. (B.W.I.)” to reflect its semi-autonomous and expanded functions. For almost 50 years now since the amendment and marching into the centenary of our founding year, 2029, BWI’s programs and activities have been guided by this current mandate to produce middle level technicians to contribute to national development. The amended Act or Charter affirms the status of the Institute as a secondary public or government national institute for education, training and development of Liberia’s workforce. On the basis of the provisions enshrined in the 1977 amended Act, BWI continues to provide combined formal secondary academic and Technical and Vocational Education
and Training (TVET) leading to the award of diplomas and certificates in various trades as well as certificate for completion of secondary education.
The TVET areas of competence are defined to include training and education in Agriculture, Automotive Mechanics, Carpentry, Drafting Technology, Masonry, Plumbing and Pipe Fitting, Electrical, Electronics, Business Accounting, Office Management and Secretarial Practice, Home Science & Hospitality Management, Machinery & Mechanical Technology and Heavy Equipment Operation and Maintenance. Today, BWI has transformed into the leading TVET institute and is a model center of promoting excellence in academia and TVET across Liberia largely due to its semi financial and operational autonomy as empowered by the Charter. Recent reform initiatives have witnessed the launch of the BWI degree (AA & ASc) programs in affiliation with the University of Liberia covering Electrical Engineering Technology, Agronomy, Animal Husbandry, Agriculture Extension Education and Accounting Technology as well as the commencement of operation of Liberia’s first TVET Teachers Training Center with funding from the European Union and the Swedish Government implemented by UNIDO. We are now gearing up for achieving a full degree granting TVET University College status in the shortest possible time as incorporated into our five years’ sustainability strategic plan 2024-2028.
We remain committed to BWI’s mission and vision to promote and sustain a model Centre of Excellence for education and TVET by continuously building the capacity and enhancing the capability of Liberia’s workforce towards self-reliance at home and beyond.
Therefore, the launch of this redesigned website is part of our initiatives to rebrand the Institute, establish a wider marketing platform as well as provide a forum for disseminating relevant information on the programs and activities of the Institute.
Welcome to the Tiger Kingdom’s website.