By Tabora Bojang
One thousand three hundred and twenty nine students found to be worthy in character and learning graduated from the University of The Gambia Sunday after completing various programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
They include 38 students from the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, 280 from the School of Arts and Sciences, 417 from School of Business and Public Administration, 30 from the School of Engineering and Architecture, 45 from the Faculty of Law, 51 from the School of Information and Communication Technology ICT, 12 from the School of Journalism and Digital Media, 151 from the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences and 91 from the School of Graduate Studies and Research.
“As you graduate today to join the ranks of change agents already in action, we urge you to embark on the transformation journey for meaningful impact on lives in your communities and nation,” University Chancellor President Adama Barrow told the graduands a colourful convocation at the UTG Faraba Campus.
He continued: “This is the moment of inspiration for you to devote part of your lives to this very challenging aspect of responsible citizenship. Nation building requires genuine, patriotic change agents to identify, initiate and guide the necessary change process to shape the future through positive social transformation of our institutions and communities.
In the current situation we have to continually groom, inspire and empower change agents to drive our national development plan 2023-2027 while mainstreaming all relevant international agreements. Education and training thus empower people to play vital roles in socio-economic and political change processes and to step up this empowerment drive my government will continue to create educational opportunities for all irrespective of socio-economic background or other circumstances.”
President Barrow said he is committed to transforming the higher education landscape in the Gambia as the country needs a lot more change agents armed with knowledge and skills to purposefully apply their agents to develop a result-oriented culture. President Barrow hailed the UTG’s immense contribution to national development and empowerment of change agents.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Robinson assured the graduates that the University will continue to partner with them and support their steady progress in their respective careers.
He said the UTG will continue to enhance its core mandates to national development through teaching and learning, research and services to the community to support key stakeholders in the public sector, private sector and civil society.
“The UTG must respond to the needs of the Gambia and we are taking measures to address that because there is considerable opportunity for expansion of our postgraduate programmes in terms of scope and scale to respond to the Gambia’s recovery focused National Development Program 2023-2027 to strengthen capacity in key areas of agriculture, environment including land governance, health and basic sciences, ICT, and Tourism and Culture.”
He said there is an urgent need for the University to support the government’s plan to stimulate agricultural growth to scientific and technological intervention particularly in building climate resilience and addressing serious challenges pose to the farming ecosystem, develop new programs in land governance to address issues in land management, urban and rural planning and real estate development, provision of clinical doctors and develop programs for responsible tourism and eco-tourism and advancement of ICT. Professor Robinson added that with a student population of 6719, the University successfully delivered 54 undergraduate programmes, 22 postgraduate masters programmes and 4 PHD programmes in agronomy, climate change, education and public administration in 2023.
Computer Science student Kebba Secka was conferred with a gold award for overall best graduating student. Lamin Juwara, Ousman Gaye, Telly Nyang, Jainaba Secka, and Abigail Usuf also win awards as second, first and third best graduating students in various fields including political science, civil engineering, medicine and economics.
