The students’ union of the Institute of Advanced Management and Technology (IAMTEC) has got a new president.
Final year business administration student, Emmanuel Kanu was sworn in yesterday by his Attorney General and Minister of Justice at a well-attended function at the college campus in the east of Freetown. It followed his election on the 31 August.
Kanu congratulated the outgoing president, Shriff Bangura whose administration he had served as Minister of Information and Communications, and appealed to the man he defeated Michael Tamba Pewa to join hands with him.
He said: “It is not my victory but our victory…I hereby extend an offer of fellowship to you for us to work together” to advance their union.
The 34-year-old said “the time for empty talk is over, now arrives the hour of actions”, and assured that he would engage the college administration to articulate the welfare needs of students.
He assured that he would engage the college administration by articulating the welfare of students, and warned his colleagues against engaging in examination malpractice.
“[T]his administration will not support any breach of the peace on campus and is also against examination malpractices, indecent dressing, and other nefarious activities”. He stressed that the policy of the use of English language on campus would be fully implemented.
Earlier, the CEO and Principal of IAMTEC, which is affiliated to Njala University, assured the new president and his administration of their support.
Prof. Roseline E. Uyanga said that they were doing all they could to keep improving on their standards with CCTV cameras installed across the campus for security reasons but also to deal with examination malpractice. She said they also were using smart boards in their classrooms, had a 3D printer and facial recognition equipment which was delivered yesterday to ensure data was kept of all those entering the campus.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mohamed Rahman Swaray said the government of Sierra Leone was committed to returning Sierra Leone to its glory days when it led the rest of the continent in the area of education. He said President Julius Maada Bio had rolled out an education revolution which was unprecedented since independence in 1961.
The minister appealed to students to work hard, study and stay away from cheating in exams or acquiring “sexually transmitted degrees”. He congratulated the peaceful election of the new students’ union president and the handover of power, which he said the national politicians had a lot to learn from.
In his keynote address, journalist Umaru Fofana appealed to the central government to consider extending government grants of fee subsidy to students of private universities. The CEO of FreeMedia Group and BBC correspondent said that even though the fees private universities charged were much higher, the government could give the students there the same amount it was paying for students in public universities. “After all they are all Sierra Leoneans” he said.
Fofana urged the new students’ union executive to prioritise service to their colleagues. “To be elected or chosen to lead your peers is one of the biggest honours one can ever be accorded”, he said.
He told them that accountability, good and accountable leadership and democratic governance needed to start at the campus level to spread to the national politics.
He encouraged students to study hard and avoid engaging in examination malpractice.
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