Boost for higher education

The opening of the American International University West Africa (AIU) in The Gambia is another boost for the country’s higher education sector.

Higher education is obviously essential for the advancement of any nation.

The new university, we understand, will have a School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy.

The establishment of the university is highly welcomed, and we encourage students to enrol in it.

However, we are very much concerned about the tution fees of the new university, which in our view is on the high side.

Considering the level of poverty among Gambians, and Africans who are the primary target, we urge the management of the university to consider providing financial aid for prospective students.

We also urge the university management to consider partnering with the University of The Gambia to exchange programmes and staff, where possible.

The university, we strongly believe, will complement the government’s efforts in trying to provide quality higher education for the Gambians and non Gambians who enrol in the medical school.

The coming of American academics into the country as well, courtesy of the new university, will help the country’s advancement.

If we are to realise our Vision 2020 and Silicon Valley development aspirations, as well as enhance the socio- economic development of the country, we need to put more emphasis on higher education.

We hope the new university would help to produce more locally-trained medical doctors in the various disciplines.

Once more, we congratulate the proprietors for choosing The Gambia to host the new university, the first private university in the country, as this will boost the country’s progress in many areas.

It was US John F. Kenedy who once said that the progress of a nation can be no swifter than its progress in education. 

“The human mind is our fundamental resource,” he averred.