UTG strike over

By Alagie Manneh & Juldeh Njie   The sit-down by the staff of the University of The Gambia has ended with lectures expected to resume today, The Standard can reliably report. The staffers accused the debunked SMT of corruption and misplaced priorities, before embarking on a strike. According to our sources, the Staff and Faculty Association that organized the strike met officials of the Ministry of Higher Education and announced at a congress Friday that lectures will restart today. Dr Ismaila Ceesay, a key figure behind the protest told The Standard that not all of their demands were met, but appeared happy as a hall-packed crowd joyously applauded news of the SMT’s dissolution and the resumption of lectures today. According to him, the ministry insisted that the sit-down should end and regular classes begin latest today. “Nobody wanted the situation to turn out this way, but we had no choice and there are serious problems here at the university which forced us to take certain drastic actions,” Dr Ceesay told The Standard. “The Staff association is now strong. We have been given a voice. And we can help develop this university.”]]>