By Mabinty M. Kamara
After a pro-longed break and uncertainty in the future of their studies, government sponsored students at the Limkokwing University have in a press statement again appealed for the intervention of the Sierra Leone government.
“The concerned government sponsored students of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Sierra Leone campus, hereby call on the attention of his Excellency President, Retired Dr. Julius Maada Bio and the government of Sierra Leone to the long overdue, prolonged holiday and stagnated impasse between the government of Sierra Leone and the Limkokwing university, which to some extent has caused the complete breakdown and halt of classes for over 1000 students that are on government scholarship pursuing diploma and degree programs,” the statement reads in part.
The Malaysian run university, named after Dr. Sri Paduka Limkokwing, was brought into the country by the former All Peoples Congress Party (APC) administration in 2014, on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University and the government of Sierra Leone. According to the MoU, the government was to award 1, 200 scholarships to Sierra Leonean Students each academic year. This agreement, according to officials of the current Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) administration, is fraudulent and not in the interest of the country.
This has led to the refusal of the government to honour the financial terms of the agreement, leading to the suspension of all courses for the government sponsored students. This has led to several protests by the students.
The issue was the subject of an investigation by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) earlier this year.
However, the Bio administration is yet to make its position known since the publication of the ACC’s findings which indicted the late former Minister of Education, Dr Milkialu Bah and other officials.
According to the students in their press statement, a copy of which was presented to Politico, the situation has become frustrating for them and is having psychological effects on them as they continue to stay at home without taking classes.
“Sadly, due to this endless impasse, halt in classes and mockery, a handful of our compatriots have given up the ghost. Some have been psychologically frustrated and traumatized. Such a situation is now too unbearable. Painfully for us, our Sierra Leonean counterparts in other universities and colleges are on their studies while we are at home dying with frustration, stress and trauma seeing our colleagues progressing whiles we are sharply retrogressing with no sign of hope,” the statement reads in part.
The Ministry of Technical and Higher Education did not respond to our request for comment.
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