Minister Gomez disclosed this on Friday 29 September 2023 during a press conference, while conducting a tour around the UTG Faraba Banta Campus.
He said that the decision to move classes to the new campus would start this semester and affirmed that his ministry remains resolved in its bid to ensure that students no longer hold classes outside or in rented places.
He made it clear that the project is not 100 percent complete but it is better than what they have now. “Instead of renting and struggling for chairs or conducting lectures at 8 p.m. for the first time in the history of the UTG, with Faraba, we can go back to the original time and then have more space.”
“These places have provided the necessary support for UTG to run its academic and other activities. However, this costs the UTG a considerable sum of its financial resources yearly and the requisite learning environment has been a challenge for quality teaching and learning,” according to the Higher Education Ministry.
Clearing doubts about the unavailability of basic amenities, the Minister also disclosed that all classrooms are fitted with pieces of furniture such as; ceiling fans, overhead projectors, smart boards, electricity and water, library, solar systems, health and safety measures, and WI-FI.
However, the School of Business and Public Administration, School of Arts and Science, School of Information Communication and Technology, and School of Education are the ones identified to relocate to the new campus this year.
Recently, the Higher Education Ministry signed an agreement with Gambia Transport Service Company to provide 15 air-conditioned buses at reasonable fares for the UTG Faraba Campus Students.
“Instead of the usual transportation fares, the buses will charge 20 Dalasi for to and fro per student,” the minister said.
According to the recent alternate timetable at the UTG, 86% of the entire courses in the 2023-2024 academic year can be managed in the available classrooms for now while the remaining 14% need somewhere to conduct their lectures and they do not have that.
“As per their data, it means the 14% don’t have their lectures,” he stated.
This situation has created an urgent need for space for the university, adding that students need to move to the new campus where they have more than enough classrooms to accommodate the entire university.
The movement to Faraba is in line with the Government of The Gambia’s agenda of providing quality education in a conducive learning environment that promotes research and innovative technological advancement for sustained socio-economic development
Meanwhile, the Higher Education Ministry officially handed over the campus to the University management last Saturday.
