Koroma: The Transformer

I note few comments on various SOCIAL MEDIA about absence of the Head of State from University of Sierra Leone (USL) convocation. Let me first hasten to assure that contrary to few postulations, there are no security concerns behind the absence of our President from the Convocation. It is also not an unexpected development as the Education Minister had announced on Wednesday this week that the President will be absent at Saturday's FBC convocation ceremony.

 

As I indicated on Facebook just a few weeks ago, H.E. the President is going to eventually relinquish his statutory, legislated position as Chancellor of State owned Universities. Sierra Leone now has three universities; One based in Western Area, one in Southern Province and one in the North(Catholic owned) with plans afoot to create a fourth one in the Eastern Province. As the country expands and educational needs expand so also does the country need to follow modern ways of education.

 

Very few countries still make the sitting President to be the Chancellor of their Universities. This is so as to ensure independence of process of application of tertiary education in modern civilisation.

 

In Sierra Leone, it is a call which has been repeatedly made over many decades for the sitting President to hands off leadership of USL. From as far back as days of Stevens to Momoh on to Kabbah, people have urged for total administrative independence of our Universities from Government influence.

 

His Excellency the President, national transformer and beacon of modernisation of Sierra Leone, is paying keen attention to that prolonged call and his absence from the USL convocation can be likened to commencement of the cutting of the apron strings between Fort Thornton and Mount Aureol.

 

The responsible APC led Government will still continue to respect our obligation to provide financial subventions to all our State Universities but President Koroma will eventually hands off the operational administration of the Universities.