By Saio Marrah and Nasratu Kargbo
Debating the 2021 Universities Act viewed as a long-awaited opportunity, Members of Parliament in Sierra Leone have unanimously applauded the bill and called it “injustice corrected” as it is something that the nation deserves and have long craved for only to have it now.
The Universities Act 2021 repeals the Universities Act 2005 and it caters for the creation of Kono University of Science and Technology, upgrading the Eastern Polytechnic to Eastern technical university and Milton Margai College of Education Science and Technology becoming university by next academic year.
Speaking in the well of parliament, on Tuesday 6th July 2021, the Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie said with the enactment of the Universities Act 2021, there will be in place for students a system addressing their different requirements. He said the majority of school pupils have been attempting several times to get the five credits university requirements and that in the end, they have not been able to attend university.
Member of Parliament, Abdul Karim Kamara, of Constituency 059, Kambia district, said he was once a student at the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology. With tears of joy, he emotionally expressed appreciation for the Act being brought to parliament for enactment. He said he was deprived of acquiring a university degree.
“When we came to this parliament, we came together as “Miltonians” for a bill that was not actualized in our time. Today, if I have not achieved anything in my life, I have achieved my greatest dream,” he said as he wiped away the tears running down his cheeks.
The Chairman of the Committee on Technical and Higher Education, Mohamed Festus Lansana of Constituency 015, Kenema district, while highlighting the enormous significance of the technical universities, noted that Sierra Leone has got only 1038 engineers to serve the seven million population and that the country needs at least 15,000. He said this is because one engineer is supposed to serve 500 people, according to the global threshold.
Member Parliament, Abdul Kargbo, of constituency 077, Port Loko district, who said he was also a Miltonian, narrated how most of the topics he did at Fourah Bay College (FBC)’s Engineering Department were mere repetition of what he already studied at Higher Diploma level at Milton Margai College of Education and Technology.
While applauding the Minister for realizing their dream, as well as the granting of university status to other parts of the country, he called on the minister not to compromise the quality of education.
The Leader of Coalition for Change (C4C) in parliament, Emerson Lamina, of Constituency 030, Kono district, while describing the Act as correct on historic injustice, hoped the minister would ensure a dynamic curriculum. He said in Nigeria, there are specialists that are only responsible for setting up curriculum that suits the market both locally as well as globally.
Narrating the enormous benefits the people of his constituency will get from the Kono University of Science and Technology, due to the closeness of his constituency to Kono, Lahai Marah, of Constituency 042, Falaba district, urged the minister to extend the Kono university’s campuses to Kabala town.
He however expressed concern over a specific clause in the Act, which gives the President or his appointee referred to as “visitor” the opportunity to intervene in the university affairs as and when he wants.
He drew the attention of his colleagues and all present in the well of parliament, to Part 4 page 8 of the bill and said a new word “visitor” has been introduced in the proposed Act which they should watch. Marah explained that the document gives the visitor the opportunity to “visit a university or campus and interfere with the general governance of academic and non-academic programmes”.
He also expressed concern over the University Court’s structure, advising that they should look at the details in order not to have a situation where “the Minister who is a political representative be having a domineering power in the court skillfully”
He appealed to all, to take a look at those aspects, adding that if the universities are to be depoliticized, and then those aspects of the bill should be looked at carefully.
“If we want to depoliticize these institutions, let’s depoliticize them completely. Let us establish them as academic institutions devoid of politics, so that nobody will interfere with them in the future,” he said.
He added that politics should not interfere in education. He said that they as politicians should not interfere with institutions if they want the institutions to be effective and efficient. He went on to note that quality education requires one to pass through the corridors of schools and take exams without any interference.
He added that members of his party are happy with the bill and will fully support it.
The leader of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) Party in Parliament, Kandeh Kolleh Yumekella thanked president for delivering what he promised. He said just like President Julius Maada Bio, he had also promised that in his manifesto. He said one way which they can depoliticize tertiary education is to hand over the chancellorship to academics, stating that they should allow academics to do their jobs. He also appealed to the Ministry to allow the universities to do their jobs, adding that when politics creeps in, then quality will be a problem.
Copyright © 07/07/21 Politico Online
