A/HRC/12/42 page 15 27. In the education sector, volunteer teachers who had been offering their services due to the insufficient numbers of well-trained and qualified teachers following the conflict were laid off28 and are being gradually replaced by qualified teachers. In assigning qualified teachers, the Ministry of Education is paying specific attention to schools in rural areas. Furthermore, plans are under way to rehabilitate three teacher training institutions based in the rural areas. 28. Liberia has a very high maternal mortality rate of 994/100,000 live births. One of the reasons for such a high maternal mortality rate is the lack of sufficiently trained health personnel. To address this challenge, the MoHSW has opened two centres to train midwives over a two-year period. A scholarship scheme that will provide training for a total of 75 nurses was also launched. In order to reform the social welfare sector, a social welfare policy has been drafted. In the immediate future, implementation of the policy will focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups and strengthening the social welfare sector in terms of building capacity; developing a basic package of social welfare services; improving coordination of services; and developing and strengthening relevant laws and regulations. E. Harmful traditional practices 29. Traditional practices which are discriminatory, harmful and violate the dignity of the person on whom they are performed continue to exist in Liberia. These include female genital mutilation (FGM), trials by ordeal, where in some instances sassywood29 was administered, ritual killings and forced initiation into secret cultural societies.30 30. The secret cultural societies mentioned above are traditional social structures and institutions that provide forums commonly referred to as “bush schools”, where pubescent girls and boys undergo rigorous training in preparation for adulthood and family life. Involvement in the bush schools affects school attendance, and full initiation into the secret society for girls and women entails undergoing FGM. Although officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for licensing the operation of these societies, say that participation in the bush 28 In December 2008, there were 11,381 teachers on the government payroll and more than 10,000 volunteers, although 7,056 volunteer teachers were recognized by the Ministry of Education and compensated. 29 A liquid made from the poisonous bark of a particular tree, or other poisonous substances, which when ingested usually causes death. Under Article 73 of the Revised Rules and Regulations Governing the Hinterland of Liberia (2000) use of sassywood in a trial by ordeal is illegal. 30 Namely, the Sande society for females and Poro society for males.