Members of the National Assembly Tuesday adopted the 2011 audit and financial report for the University of The Gambia after a long and thorough scrutiny of the report.
Presenting the annual report to NAM, Professor Muhamadou O. Kah, Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, gave an overview of the report, saying some challenges have got chronic and others are looming on the horizon.
“In 2011-2012, we built on our earlier success, and continued to build a solid foundation for the future of the University of The Gambia. As mentioned in the previous year’s report, our beginning was humble but UTG has strategically placed herself and is poised to become regionally renowned,” Prof Kah told deputies.
Professor Kah also told Members of the National Assembly that the 2011/2012 academic year was also one of transformative discoveries and ideas, and a time to reflect on what had made their tremendous achievement within a decade possible.
“The rich history of UTG had evolved from inspiration to impact and we are putting more emphasis on supporting teaching, research and service with a view to the long term future of the University,” said Prof Kah.
A long-term perspective was vital given that world-changing discoveries and ideas have to be nurtured and that they are tasked with becoming a developmental university, fully engaged in innovation and coming up with solutions to the socio-economic challenges facing The Gambia, he added.
Baba F. Drammeh, who delivered the audit report on behalf of the Auditor General, said the University Bye-Laws further state that the Senate is responsible for the promotion of academic work of the university and to examine the effectiveness with which academic resources are used.
He said there was no evidence provided to show that senate meetings were held in 2011, and a further review of the document revealed that only two senate meetings were held in 2012, on 17 January and 14 February.
As a rapid growing institution, regular meetings of the senate are highly vital for the formulation and implementation of key policies and procedures to enhance the progress of the university, he stated.
He added that the implication of this is a risk that key policy decision critical to the success of the university would not be dealt with in a timely manner leading to delays in key activities.
Drammeh told members of the National Assembly that in the absence of regular meetings, there is an added risk that the key decisions taken were left in the hands of management and these decisions may not always represent the general interest of the university.
In responding to the report, the management of the university said the Senate has met, though not as management would like as was the practice in previous academic years.
This was by and large due to the fact that the university was subjected to unprecedented forms of distractions. A good number of the Senior Management had to appear in court and answer to all sorts of investigations, he said.
Sulayman Joof, NAM member for Serrekunda West, thanked the management of the UTG for submitting their report, saying the UTG has expanded over the years. Nettty Baldeh, NAM member for Tumana, said the UTG is an entity that benefits from public funds and as a result needs professionals to run the affairs of the committee of the UTG.
“We are very passionate about the UTG,” he said.
Hon. Ba Faye Saidykhan, member for Jarra East, and Hon. Samba Jallow, member for Niamina Dankunku, all spoke about the report.
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