By: Ibrahim J. Conteh
Currently in Sierra Leone, majority of students aspiring to access and pursue higher education face severe challenges to obtained financial support for attainment of quality education.
Updating the media at a press conference, the Minister of Higher and Technical Education Prof. Alpha T. Wurie explains that government is committed to provide the enabling environment aligned to cluster one of the Medium Term National Development plan 2019-2023, he made this disclosure at the Ministry of Information and Communication Conference room.
He added that promoting Human capital development especially cluster 1.2 which details the strengthening of tertiary and higher education and to enhance the capacity of student with the knowledge and skills to address the social economic needs of the country and contribute to achieving SDG 4 which ensures inclusive and equitable quality to mitigate lifelong learning opportunity is pivotal to the flagship education Program of President Bio.
He furthered that strives to provide an enabling environment for students’ capacity building with the knowledge and skills to meet the social and economic needs of society are at the heart of the New direction Government of President Bio. Thus, he said the Ministry has over the years been awarding Grant-in-Aid (GIA) to qualified and deserving students pursuing higher and technical education, especially those that are faced with financial constraints. With an overriding objective to enhance a productive labor force in the country. He added that the Government of Sierra Leone, through Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, has awarded 2,750 GIA to undergraduate students for the 2020/2021 academic year Pro. Wurie disclosed.
Prof. Wurie pointed that students across the country were given equal opportunity to submit GIA application on the Ministry’s Online portal system, 6,125 application were received from all 16 districts and interview were conducted at district level.
He added that the mode of application was such that each awardee applied using the Ministry online portal and must have been registered in a Public Tertiary Institution (USL, NU, EBK, MMTU, ETU, FTC, and GTI). Priority given to candidate pursuing programs in sciences, technology engineering, Agriculture, Mathematics (STEAM) Medicine, French and Tourism. He also informed the press that though candidate in the first years of their program were not eligible to apply, but priority was given to first year female students pursing STEAM Programs.
Prof. Wurie also uses the platform to inform Pressmen about the progress being made, adding that in April this year, the Government of President Bio did make a salary increment of 50% for lecturers in all of the Public universities. “The Ministry is keen to enhance staff training and capacity development for lecturers in a bid to foster efficiency in technical and higher education institutions across the country” Prof. Wurie maintained.
He concluded by disclosing that the Ministry is about to construct 6 new Government Technical Institutes (GTIs) in 6 strategic districts/locations across the country, in addition to the 10 already existing ones. Human capital development, being one of Government’s national strategic objectives, cannot be detached, Prof. Wurie noted.