By Tabora Bojang
A senior lecturer and president of the University of The Gambia Staff Association, Dr Alieu Gibba has petitioned the chairman of the UTG governing council over what he calls the illegal occupancy of the office of the Registrar by Dr. Momodou Lamin Tarro.
In a letter entitled ´notification of the end of term of Momodou Lamin Tarro as Registrar´ sent to the Vice Chancellor, National Assembly Education Committee, and the Ministry of Higher Education, seen by The Standard, Dr Gibba argued that the continuous stay of Mr Tarro in office is in violation of the UTG conditions of services which states that the tenure of a registrar is a fixed term renewable only once.
“I would like to bring to your attention that the current University Registrar’s term has legally ended and he is therefore unlawfully occupying the office. He was confirmed as Registrar in 2O14 for a contract period of three (3) years which was mutually renewed for a second term in 2017 for another three (3) years. According to Section 8.5 sub-section 8.5.1 of the UTG Conditions of Service, “Appointments to the position of University Registrar and Director of Finance shall be for a fixed term with the possibility of renewal, but only once. Such posts shall be filled through advertisement, interview, and assessment,” Dr Gibba argued in the letter.
“That being the case and in the interest of UTG’s integrity and best practices, I therefore urge you to engage the Registrar (Dr. Momodou Lamin Tarro) to relinquish his current position and move to another administrative or academic portfolio, as his stay in office violates the 2007 UTG conditions of service. Thereafter, the Registrar’s position be advertised and filled accordingly,” Gibba said in the petition.
The Standard contacted the chairman of the UTG Governing Council Mathew Ndure who acknowledged receipt of the said petition but declined to make any further remarks.
“I am not the Council. I am just a chairman and so I cannot pre-empt any decision that the Council will make in this matter. The Council has not met over it yet, because we meet on a quarterly basis but it will be given due consideration during the Council’s normal meetings,” Ndure said.
