By Sirrah Touray
President Adama Barrow on Saturday presided over the University of The Gambia’s 18th Convocation Ceremony at the Faraba Banta Campus, where 1,633 students received degrees in the largest graduating class in the institution’s history.
Addressing the ceremony as chancellor, President Barrow said higher education must serve as a strategic bridge for policy, innovation and job creation. He challenged universities to take the lead in shaping public policy discourse and reducing reliance on external expertise. He cited the Tertiary and Higher Education Trust Fund, the National Research and Innovation Fund and the Students’ Revolving Loan Scheme as government measures to finance research and expand infrastructure.
UTG Governing Council Chairperson Professor Momodou Mustapha Fanneh said the convocation theme was a call to reimagine the role of higher education in shaping national destiny. He appealed to government to progressively assume responsibility for the basic salaries of staff across all public universities to ease financial pressures and strengthen staff retention. He noted that the Faraba Campus has ended years of renting classrooms and examination halls.
Vice Chancellor Professor Herbert Robinson said the expansion of the Faraba Banta Campus has significantly increased student enrolment, research opportunities, laboratories and faculty capacity. He commended the government’s support for the university’s transformation.
The ceremony produced the nation’s first cohort of home grown dental doctors and the university’s first PhD graduates in law. The Governing Council announced the renaming of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences to the Adesina School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Senegal’s Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Professor Daouda Ngom, addressed the gathering on behalf of the visiting delegation. Former African Development Bank President Dr Akinwumi Adesina also spoke at the ceremony.
President Barrow told the Class of 2025 that graduation does not mark the end of learning and urged them to link education to national purpose.
