ADDRESS BY THE CHANCELLOR OF NJALA UNIVERSITY, HIS EXCELLENCY DR. ERNEST BAI KOROMA, AT THE 2009 UNIVERSITY CONGREGATION, CORONATION FIELD, BO, ON SATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2009 PRO-CHANCELLOR AND CHAIRMAN OF THE UNIVERSITY COURT
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF COURT
ACTING VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL, NJALA UNIVERSITY
VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL, UNIVERSITY OF SIERRALEONE
HONOURABLE MINISTERS OF GOVERNMENT
HONOURABLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
PARAMOUNT CHIEFS
MAYOR OF BO TOWNSHIP
YOUR EXCELLENCIES, MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS
MEMBERS OF COURT AND SENATE
STAFF AND STUDENTS
GRADUANDS
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
PARENTS AND GUARDIANS
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
1. We are gathered here again to celebrate another milestone in the human resource development efforts of our beloved country. This event is considered to be fundamental in achieving the development aspirations of our country. In this context, I must express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the Almighty God for giving me the privilege to preside today at the 4th Annual Njala University congregation for the award of degrees, diplomas and certificates.
2. Once every year, parents, guardians, graduates, lecturers and visitors from all walks of life come together to honour one of our many institutions of higher learning. The main purpose for our gathering here today, however, is to recognize that special group of students who have successfully completed their studies and are at that important milestone in their lives called graduation day. As is usual, the Chancellor’s address must begin with the traditional recognition of that achievement. Please join me then to give all the graduates a round of applause. (Break...) Congratulations! Bravo to you all!
3. Apart from congratulating students who have successfully completed their courses of studies however, we must also pay homage to their parents, guardians and other supporters who made great sacrifices for the achievement of that success. We commend the lecturers and teachers for their commitment and dedication to duty to see the students through. A university graduation is also more than the distribution of accolades to deserving staff and students. It offers us the opportunity to recognize the achievement of the institution itself over the years and to highlight its major challenges and chart a new way forward. In a world that is fast growing in complexity and confronted by an increasing number of socio-economic and political problems, both at local and global levels, we come to ask the question, how ready are our universities to take up the challenge? It is the graduation of students in critical fields of study that assures us that a solid foundation is being laid for confronting these problems.
4. Mr. Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal, in this congregational Address, I want to continue with the theme, “An Agenda for Change”, encapsulated in documents from my retreat at Bumbuna in January 2008, my statement at the State Opening of Parliament on the 5th October, 2007 and again on the 10th October, 2008 and the Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP II). These documents represent the commitment of my government to work in partnership with every stakeholder to address the widespread poverty, hunger, unemployment, as well as the high infant and maternal mortality rates that still pervade our country. We consider tertiary educational institutions, including Njala University, as very important stakeholders in our drive to achieve the goals of the ‘Agenda for Change’ and help improve the livelihoods of our citizens.
5. The ‘Agenda for Change’ identifies six priority areas for lifting our people out of poverty, as follows:-
(a) Energy and Water Supply; (b) Infrastructure and Transportation; (c) Youth Unemployment; (d) The Growth Sector; (e) Social Services; and (f) Capacity Building.
6. Mr. Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal, Ladies and Gentlemen, within these priority areas, my government has placed greater emphasis on the tripod of our development; namely, energy, agriculture and infrastructure. We know that we cannot do everything at once, but that if we concentrate on these three priority areas, we will be able to sustain the necessary level of development that can lift our people out of poverty. We as a people must therefore gear ourselves to face the challenge.
7. I will now deliberate briefly on two (2) of these priorities that are most closely related to the mission of Njala University. i.e. (1) Ensuring effective delivery of basic social services and (2) Increasing agricultural productivity.
8. Within the context of improved social services, we envisage improvement in the quality of education through the provision of training programmes for all categories of teachers. In the health sector, we envisage the introduction of courses aimed at improving health, and the reduction of mortality rates, especially among infants and pregnant women. Njala University, through its respective campuses and affiliated institutions, could undertake major studies that could contribute considerably to the general improvement of our education and health services.
9. Mr. Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal, ladies and gentlemen, as you are all aware, it is our poor showing as a nation in these very areas of development that has kept our country at the bottom of the Human Development Index for the past years. These areas also constitute the core of the Millennium Development Goals of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, ensuring that all boys and girls complete primary school education, reducing by two thirds the mortality rate of children under five and reducing by three fourths the ration of women dying in child birth.
10. Through various interventions by past governments and donor partners, there has been marginal improvement in the situation, but much remains to be done. We as a government committed ourselves right from the beginning to making a difference where others have failed; and that, for us, failure was not an option. We are still committed to that promise and with your solid support, the signs of improvement should be visible for all to see by the end of the first three years of the ‘Agenda for Change’.
11. As for poverty, an analysis of poverty in the country in the PRSPII document indicate that poverty is still pervasive and endemic with 66.4% of our population defined as poor. But more significant is the fact that poverty is much more ingrained and pervasive in the provinces than in the western area; and more in the rural areas than in the urban areas even in the provinces.
12. Set then in the midst of the realities of the rural situation, Njala University is uniquely placed to play a pivotal role in transforming the rural environment from abject poverty to moderate prosperity within a reasonable period of time.
13. My government has outlined ambitious but realistic plans to move this country forward under the programme of the ‘Agenda for Change’, but this will require great sacrifices on the part of every Sierra Leonean and every friend of Sierra Leone. It will require dedicated, honest and committed leadership. We are looking to the institutions of higher learning to assist in providing this leadership in partnership with the Government.
14. It is the fervent wish of my Government that the administration would endeavour to strengthen the various Departments and Units relating to these objectives. The School of Community Health Sciences, for example, is uniquely well placed to play a pivotal role in the improvement of:
Health Services in rural areas:
Community Health and Clinical Sciences,
Environmental Health,
Nursing, and
Medical Laboratory Technology
15. The other priority in which Njala University could play a pivotal role is in the improvement of agricultural productivity. You will recall that Njala University College was established in 1964 along the principles of the Land Grants Colleges of the United States of America to be at the forefront of the generation of improved agricultural technology.
16. In this regard, a range of existing schools in the new Njala University - that is, Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture, Technology, Environmental Science, and Social Sciences - could, at least do two things -
(a) strengthen the capacity of staff of relevant Ministries by providing very competent young men and women, and (b) engage in collaborative projects with Government Ministries that will ensure quantity and quality in productivity by providing solutions to problems that farmers face all along the value chain.
17. A good example on how to develop workable links with relevant Ministries, NGOs and the Private Sector was set by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security on the one hand and Njala University and the University of Sierra Leone on the other hand. This was done against the background of collaboration between Njala University and the former Institute of Agricultural Research and the Rice Research Station. The areas of collaboration identified in the MOU include:-
research
training
curriculum development
internship
publications
dissemination of knowledge
information
management
institutional support
joint sourcing of funds
appropriate technology development
policy analysis and review, and
monitoring and evaluation
18. In addition to the support in technical matters that I have just outlined, my Government, and indeed the nation at large, expect students to develop certain personal traits during the years they spend in Primary and Secondary schools and in your reputable University. These traits are required for them to perform effectively and efficiently in whatever professional area they may find themselves after today, be it the private or public sector.
19. I am referring to attributes such as moral integrity, respect for authority, punctuality, self discipline, devotion to duty, tolerance of one another and the resolution of conflict by peaceful means.
20. Mr. Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is disheartening to note that the menace of cultism continues to haunt our tertiary educational institutions despite the stringent measures that had been taken to eradicate the practice. Not too long ago, activities in cultism at this very campus and Port Loko Teacher’s College led to the termination of the appointment of some staff members and the rustication of some students. And yet quite recently, a student lost his life in similar activities at the University of Sierra Leone.
21. Within this context, I want to make it very clear again that my Government views the sinister practice of cultism as totally unacceptable in any educational institution. As I said in December 2008 at the Congregation of your sister institution - the University of Sierra Leone - we utterly condemn cultism and will support the University in whatever measures it considers necessary to nip it in the bud. We expect the University Disciplinary Committee to crack down firmly on students, both male and female, or any lecturer or citizen that may be engaged in this obnoxious practice.
22. I implore students to channel their energies into sporting activities, debating societies, campus magazines and more importantly their academic work.
23. Mr. Vice Chancellor and Principal, a little earlier, I outlined some of the areas in which we expect Njala University to contribute towards the achievement of the objectives of the ‘Agenda for Change’. I dare say substantial funding will be required for success. My Government pledges to make all efforts to improve staff conditions of service and the physical faculties of the University by acting in concert with the University COURT. On your own side, you should diversify your income-generation activities. Most thriving Universities in the first world fund more than 60% of their activities through fund-raising and income-generating activities. We must borrow a leaf from them. Participation of University Departments in various Government projects as consultants would also widen the income-generation base.
24. I am sure that you are aware of the financial crisis in the developed countries, and we should all begin to brace ourselves for the tidal waves that may hit us sooner or later.
25. An important source of funding, which, to my mind, has not been fully exploited is the Alumni within Sierra Leone and the Diaspora. Many Njala University College graduates occupy very important positions in many organisations the world over, and would be prepared to do something if contacted in an organised way.
26. I am happy to learn that over the past few months, Njala University Alumni in the USA and Canada have begun putting together a package of support for Njala University. They have started the process by shipping to the Njala Educational Community (Njala University, Experimental School, and Njala University School) a container of books. They are considering the installation of solar power and the rehabilitation of the Agronomy Laboratory, which was not part of the BADEA Project.
27. I realize that some key members of my Government are Njala University College Alumni. I urge them to play a leading role in bringing together Njala Alumni into a vibrant organization that will be able to attract funds from within and outside the country for the development of Njala and Bo Campuses.
28. I must say that rehabilitation at Njala over the past 3-4 years under the BADEA Project has not been as satisfactory as we would wish. Things have picked up significantly over the past few months however, and I thank the college administration for that. Working closely with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, a plan B (Emergency Plan) was developed to facilitate the relocation of staff and students of the Schools of Agriculture and Forestry and Horticulture to Njala. It has not been easy, but perseverance has paid dividends. My Government paid out about Le3 billion Leones, which had not been plugged into the budget, mainly to contractors to fast track the rehabilitation. Njala University, in its commitment to the relocation exercise, dipped into its savings to supplement the funds provided by Government.
29. Mr. Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal, in coming to the end of my address, let me thank the Mayor of Bo Town, the Resident Minister, the Paramount Chief and the people of Kakua for their hospitality and for making the Bo Coronation Grounds available for this CONGREGATION. I am sure we would be welcome again here next year; but it will give me greater joy if next year’s congregation could be held at Njala, the Headquarters of Njala University. The challenges are enormous, but we shall succeed if we put our shoulders to the wheel.
Thank you all for your attention
God Bless Sierra Leone
God Bless you all