By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
The Sierra Leone Police has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Sierra Leone (USL) as a way of strengthening the relationship between the two institutions.
The agreement comes as the police force seeks to builds an academy in the Makomp village in the northern district of Bombali, which it calls the ‘International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA).’
At the MoU signing at Fourah Bay College on Monday, Inspector-General of Police Francis Allieu Munu, told the press that the agreement would not only strengthen the relationship between the two institutions but it would also be necessary in the provision of required expertise to carry out certain responsibilities.
He said the force needed to train its officers so that they could be more capable of handling challenges they faced in their routines. “Excellence in performance comes through learning,” Munu said.
He noted that it was the knowledge both he and his deputy had acquired from the University of Sierra Leone that gave them an insight to have a police college in the country. The journey, he added, started since 2005.
Vice Chancellor and Principal, Professor Ekundayo Thompson, assured the police boss that the university would collaborate exclusively with the police in the realization of the academy project and in providing the required expertise.
Professor Thompson said the effort of putting the MoU documents together was symbolic and practical and that it represented the desire of both institutions to partner and collaborate so as to move the education agenda forward. He noted that education was the third pillar in the Agenda for Change, the government`s version of the global Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II.
Emphasizing the interdependence of the two institutions, the vice Chancellor pointed out that “the mandate of the university was to teach research and engage in community services, whilst that of the police was to maintain social order.
And without law and order, we will be constrained in the deliverance of our mandate,” Professor Thompson said.
When completed, he said, the academy would form part of Sierra Leone’s tertiary educational landscape where qualified police officers would pursue master’s and doctorate degrees.
Senior lecturer of Mass Communications and head of the university’s alumni directorate, Bernadette Cole, described the occasion as “a significant milestone in the quest for partnership.”
Applauding the various efforts put into the MoU, Mrs. Cole said the police university would help officers to serve the state loyally upon completion.
A publication in the February 10th edition of Politico Newspaper quoted the police website manager, ASP Brima Kamara, as saying that the ILEA would be fully functional in October.
© Politico 14/04/15
