The roundtable meeting was aimed at discussing constraints of the university and measures to address the constraint. It also enabled students to directly interact with the management.
The theme for the event was “Making UTG Great.”
The students were given the opportunity to ask the management questions concerning their constraints. The issues that were raised by the students include shortage of chairs, tables, projectors, sanitary materials, transportation, late entry of grades, clean toilets, among others.
The management responded to the questions and assured the students that the problems would be addressed.
In his statement, Herbert Robinson, vice chancellor of the University of The Gambia said: “I want the student body to be a power because students are integral part of the university.”
The vice chancellor said the best way to address the challenges of the university is to engage in constructive dialogue with the students.
He said that the management will engage the students on regular basis on the best way to address their issues.
“You will understand our perspective and we will understand your perspective. That is the only way to move forward,” he told them.
He said he was aware of problems such as shortage of chairs, tables, projectors, among others in the university, adding that, the problems are inherited but he will not shy away from addressing them.
“I am looking at all these issues. It will take some time but we are making improvements on them.”
“We can only make progress when we engage in constructive (dialogue),” he added.
Omar Dibba, deputy secretary general of UTGSU said the session is “historic in the history of the University of The Gambia” because it is the first time that the management directly discusses the problems with students.
He said that the event is to put “ideas and perspective” of students and management together in order to address the challenges of the university.
Lagamy Gumaneh, president of UTGSU said it was a “moment of reflection” that the students had a direct discussion with the management about the condition of the university.
“We want to reduce the communication challenges which is why we are removing UTGSU between the students and the management,” he said.
