State House, Banjul, 28th March 2024: President Adama Barrow received a team of policy-makers, contractors, and consultants, together with heads of Gambia institutions under the Ministry of Higher Education, to review the achievements and challenges of the Ministry on Wednesday, 27th March 2024 at the State House in Banjul.
The Delivery Forum’s discussions focused on improving education and widening access to higher education for all. The key to this is transforming Gambia College into a University of Education.
Meanwhile, the School of Agriculture and Nursing and Public Health under Gambia College would be integrated into The University of The Gambia Schools of Agriculture and Medicine, respectively.
Honourable Professor Pierre Gomez said human capital is a priority for the Government, and the new Gambia is ready to support Gambian youths by giving them quality education, which starts with the infrastructure.
The Ministry of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Government and the World Bank RISE Project, will build state-of-the-art National Laboratory Equipment at Gambia College. “It cannot be business as usual,” he emphasised. The Honourable Minister added that the transformation would affect all sectors and support the National Agency for Quality Assurance in monitoring and taking care of the quality assurance component.
To maximise the impact of education on society and ensure its success and sustainability, the Minister also put forward changes at the Faraba Banta Campus regarding the construction of the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences.
The Higher Education Minister also shared plans for resource mobilisation to provide state-of-the-art facilities and medical laboratories for the School of Medicine. “For the first time, the country will have medical equipment we never have.” He said.
President Barrow’s administration is embarking on a transformative journey in the education sector. The plans include the construction of TVET Centers across all regions and transforming the Management Development Institute (MDI) into a Civil Servants University, which would enhance the professional training of Civil Servants for a more efficient public service delivery. The President remarked, “This is part of our Civil Service Reform programme.”
The Government’s agenda is not just in the field of education but also from the perspective of entrepreneurship and innovation. For the first time in history, the Government, through MOHERST, will approve an annual stipend for students of the TVET programme equivalent to 400 dollars per student to enable them to start their business upon completing their course.
In addition, the Ministry briefed President Barrow on constructing Lot 2 of the Faraba Banta Campus and the Government’s partnership with MRC Holland Foundation on the ongoing consultation with contractors to build a dormitory for UTG students in Faraba.
Meanwhile, the construction of the University of Science Engineering and Technology (USET) is progressing satisfactorily.
Following the presentation, President Barrow thanked the Ministry, its institutions, and donor partners for supporting the transformation of higher education in The Gambia.
