By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
The Government of Sierra Leone has buckled under the demand of lecturers at Njala University and removed from office the two Acting Deputy Vice Chancellors at the institutions’ two campuses.
The men who head the Bo and Mokonde campuses were released after a weeklong strike by the Njala Academic Staff Association (ASA) which ended yesterday.
The lecturers maintained that the appointments were illegal because they contravened the country’s Education Act of 2005 which provides that if there is a Professor or an Associate Professor, no-one less qualified can be made a DVC.
The two men who were acting in that capacity and were presented to the University Court for confirmation are neither.
The apparent impasse had attracted the attention of the central government which sanctioned an investigation by the University Court through the Office of the Vice President, Dr Juldeh Jalloh.
In two separate letters addressed to Dr Saidu Challey and Dr Joseph Sherman Kamara, the now former Acting DVCs, the university administration thanked them for their services and urged them to do a smooth transition with their new replacements who will be recruited.
“On behalf of the Court, I want to thank you very much for the service you have rendered as Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor of Bo campus and look forward to your continued commitment to the development of Njala University. By copy of this letter, Dr. Richard Ansumana is required to superintend the activities of the campus until further notice,” a copy of the letter addressed to Dr Challey reads in part.
Dr Kamara, who was the head of the Njala Mokonde campus in Moyamba District, will now be replaced by Dr. Philip Mornya, a copy of the letter addressed to him notes.
The positions however remain vacant as the university administration has put out a public notice in search of permanent replacements.
At Njala University, the DVC is like the principal of campus, coordinating its day-to-day operations.
Chairman of the Governance Committee of the Academic Staff Association at Njala University, Dr. Allieu Bah, told Politico that a process was ongoing to permanently fill the vacant positions.
Dr Bah said advertisement concerning the vacancy would be announced today and the process of recruiting “legally qualified” DVCs was expected to be completed in the next three weeks.
ASA says classes resumed yesterday after the administration announced its decision on Monday.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
