Speaking to the media at a press conference held at the law faculty ahead of their three-day national forum for tertiary institutions aimed at discussing fundamental academic issues, the president said: “We intend to bring together almost 67 schools in the country to talk about fundamental academic issues. The reason we are more than committed to harnessing the day is to leave a legacy for the upcoming executives. We want donors to realise that this is done in the best interest of the nation and future leaders. We intend to make it an annual national forum. This is happening in every country and our students from various tertiary institutions are usually invited to attend forums and the like. When it grows bigger we also intend to invite students from the UK, America and many others.”
In his remarks, legal adviser and chairman of the organising committee, Fabakary Fatty explained: “ We will be discussing fundamental academic issues ranging from development, socio-economic development, quality assurance and the role unionism in conflict resolution and a host of other issues. This will enable us to have the platform to discuss, analyse and assess our country’s academic policy and come up with clear recommendations at the end of the day. We believe this will help the country in its vision 2020 development blue print. We cannot only be paying lip service but being also pragmatic in our actions. We have invited representatives from the UNDP, lecturers from the University of The Gambia, head of civil service and minister of presidential affairs and other important individuals as well.”
Speaking on behalf of the organising committee, Ndey Aram Mbow said: “We have discussed about creating job opportunities for youths, the role of students in socio-economic development. We also talked about gender equality in tertiary institutions, the importance of economic integration in the sub-region and the impact on education”.
By Alalgi Manneh
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