The Ministry of High Education, Research, Science and Technology and the Governing Council of the University of The Gambia, UTG, have issued a press release announcing their full confidence and trust in the Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammadou O. Kah.
According to the release, “His Excellency, the President of the Republic, Chancellor and founder of the University, President Yahya Jammeh, as well as the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and the UTG Governing Council, reaffirmed their full confidence and trust in the Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammadou O. Kah and together with all other patriotic Gambians, and to continue to give him and his staff all the support they need to strengthen and develop the University”.
A joint statement on developments unfolding at the UTG involving the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Muhammadou Kah, stated that “the general public is hereby informed that the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and the Governing Council of the UTG regret the unfortunate circumstances in which the University and the Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammadou Kah, in particular, have been dragged into”.
The release added that the UTG is a young institution of higher learning, and the only public university in The Gambia, “thus makes is critically essential that all and sundry work collectively and resolutely to protect it and consolidate the remarkable achievements that have been registered over the past ten years period of its existence”.
According to the statement, the achievements of the UTG are unquestionable, and included a dramatic increase in access to higher education or university enrolment in the country, which has risen by 100 % within the past three years, from less than 2000 to 4000.
They also included the introduction of few undergraduate and graduate programs, in addition to expansion of existing ones, all of which have been designed to respond to the nation’s drive for sustained socio-economic development.
The UTG’s successes included its contribution to world knowledge through peer reviewed research, complemented by information sharing and the promotion of lifelong learning, cultivation of a higher education community in the country, the recognition of scholarship and establishment and strengthening of links and partnerships with other reputable universities and organizations, nationality and internationally, the statement went on.
“Gambians are reminded that actions aimed at frustrating the efforts of the UTG leadership amounts to not only undermining the institution around which rests the development of the country’s human resources base, but also thwarting the transformation of this institution into a world-class university,” the release continued.
The statement also noted that through the UTG, the Government has registered significant successes in addressing the perennial capacity and competency gaps that plagued both the private and public sectors for many years.
“Graduates of the UTG are now visibly functional in all walks of life and sectors, holding key positions and contributing effectively to the development of the nation. To the pride of all genuine Gambians, they excel in the world of work and in academic pursuits in other universities abroad. These are laudable achievements and should be appreciated,” it noted.
It said that in the light of the aforementioned and in the interest of the multitude of young Gambians, who will continue to aspire for quality university education in The Gambia, it is important that UTG leadership and staff are not distracted, but supported to pursue the lofty goals, objective and standards set for them.
