Sierra Leone: According to the Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal of Njala University, Professor Osmsan Sankoh ” funding from government has been limited and slow in coming.”
Prof. Sankoh made this disclosure during the graduation ceremony of Njala University on Saturday 10th April 2021, whilst highlighting the challenges the University is currently faced with.
He said this situation has put a lot of pressure on the Administration to carry out activities it wants to embark on to meet staff needs and improve the quality of life for students.
“Both the student grants-in-aid and the quarterly subvention have never been paid on timely basis. The implementation of this perennial payment delays undermine the University’s capacity for effective teaching and research services resulting in industrial actions.”
Another hurdle, pointed out by the Acting Vice Chancellor is that the University is still using and relying on Thermal Power to generate electricity and water needs for staff and students on campuses. “This places a very huge financial burden on the University with its limited resources. We spend over Le200 million monthly to generate water and electricity on our various campuses.”
He said since the establishment of the University in 1964, Njala University has never benefitted from the national grid, especially in the main Njala campus . “We are calling for government’s intervention.”
He lastly mentioned the deplorable roads to their main campus stating “We were quite hopeful when we saw Njala University mentioned in a Government document last year that these roads would be tarred. We are still waiting and would want to crave your personal intervention this time” he told the Minister of Higher Education.
MJB/13/04/2021