Thirty-four students on Saturday graduated at the Good Citizen Institute (GCI), at a ceremony held at its campus in Sifoe village, Kombo South, West Coast Region.
The graduates were certified on their various fields of studies offered by the institution such as business management and administration, Islamic studies, computer science, accounting and finance, community development studies and access program for English and Mathematics.
The occasion was the institution’s first graduation ceremony since its establishment few years ago, which brought together government officials and the institution’s management.
In his speech, the institution’s proprietor, Asad Khan, described education as being a partnership agreement between the college administration and its students.
“It is through education and its practical implementations that people can advance the nation and steer it towards a prosperous future,” he said.
He added that in the last decade, knowledge had increased in many fold, stating: “We cannot sit on our laurels and must strive for more knowledge in arts, science, and technology.”
Khan said further that they are to start in the fields of healthcare and nursing, engineering and technology in the near future with the permission of the ministry, while calling for more enrollments into the institution.
He, however, appealed to the representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology to work actively to transform the college into a university as they commence next academic year 2014-15.
He further thanked all those who have been working arduously for the realization of the institution.
Musa I. Touray, director of tertiary and higher education, at the Ministry of Higher Education, Reseach, Science and Technology, said the provision of quality tertiary and higher education is a top priority of government.
He revealed that his ministry is in the process of establishing an accreditation and quality assurance authority to regulate the establishment, regulation and accreditation of tertiary and higher education institutions to ensure that quality education is offered.
He advised the graduates to make good use of the knowledge gained and described their graduation as a beginning for another level and further urged them to be discipline in all their endeavours.