By Tabora Bojang
The Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Professor Pierre Gomez, has said government has decided to give scholarships to all students studying civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering at the newly established University of Science, Engineering and Technology USET.
Speaking in an interview with The Standard, Minister Gomez described this year as a year of “human capital development.”
He said the government will undertake a bold approach focusing on investing in people on all aspects of capacity development including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, innovation and technical and vocational education.
Further unveiling some key measures to be taken up by his ministry this year, Minister Gomez disclosed that a new chancery building and the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Law will be completed and inaugurated at the UTG Faraba campus while mobilisation of resources for the construction of School of Medicine and Allied health Sciences which will offer specialised training in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and public health will commence.
He said the new USET campus under construction in Brikama will also be inaugurated by the president in the coming months.
Gomez said the government also secured funds to construct specialised TVET centres on fisheries and agri-business in Tujereng and two others in CRR North and South. “We want them to be a centre of excellence and a hub in West Africa. And we have provided scholarships to about 20 Gambians to Turkey and Malawi for their master’s programs in agri-business, fisheries and marine science and that is in preparation for these centres of excellence.”
The minister added that a number of lecturers from the University of the Gambia UTG, the University of Education formerly Gambia College and the University of Civil service formerly MDI were also awarded scholarships to pursue PhD and Master’s programmes at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.
“We will pay for their round-trip tickets, give them a monthly stipend of $500 for master’s degree students and $850 monthly stipend for PhD candidates. This is an investment in human capital development and we are going to do more of such in 2025. For sustainable development to take place, we need to have a well-trained citizenry.”
Minister Gomez further disclosed that the much-anticipated student loan scheme designed to provide loans to needy and bright students to pursue higher education will be rolled out this year following approval in the national budget.
He said a new programme will also be launched this year for the integration of madrassa education into the higher education ecosystem, the introduction of a policy and strategy on female gender in tertiary and higher education and a cabinet paper for the provision of care centres for student mothers in higher education institutions.
