By Aminata Kuyateh
Students of the University of The Gambia have staged another protest yesterday to vent their frustrations against the ongoing standoff between the UTG management and lecturers who are currently on a sit-down strike.
Unlike last week’s protest, this one is spearheaded by the UTG Students Union. The procession began from Ice Man junction along Mamadi Maniyang Highway to the UTG Kanifing Campus where the demonstrators submitted a petition to the Vice Chancellor Professor Herbert Robinson with a series of demands.
The students said the ongoing lecturers’ strike which was informed by the dismissal of lecturers Dr Alieu Gibba and Associate Professor Matarr Njie by the management has significantly disrupted their academic activities.
UTG Student Union president, Nyaninka Manjang, said they are out to formally demand a swift and equitable resolution to the ongoing crisis and ensure the interests and academic integrity of the students are upheld.
Manjang charged that the dismissal of the two lecturers and the sit-down strike that ensued come at the expense of the students who are now facing delays in sitting for their exams and potential setbacks in the completion of their academic programmes.
He lamented that despite several attempts by the student leadership and the government for the lecturers to suspend their strike, the UTG Faculty and Staff Association decided to continue even after agreeing to a resolution brokered by the Vice President’s Office.
“This is an unnecessary turmoil for students who are caught in the crossfire of a dispute they are not responsible for,” he said.
The student president contested that they are not protesting to call for the reinstatement of the two lecturers, arguing that issues regarding staff appointments and dismissal are under the purview of the management.
He said the union is instead calling for the immediate resumption of all academic and administrative functions; conduct exams not later than 6 January, 2025; compensate students affected by the dismissed lecturers; ensure students who commenced research projects under the two dismissed lecturers continue to receive guidance from them; ensure dismissed lecturers prepare exams questions and mark scripts of their students; and hold early second semester exams for law students preparing for the bar school.
These demands were submitted to the vice chancellor who came down to receive the petition.
It was evident at the protest that students differ in their demands to the management. This comes after a group of students who described themselves as “concerned students” vented their demands with several chants calling for among others the resignation of the vice chancellor and immediate reinstatement of Gibba and Njie. They were holding placards and banners reading; “VC Must Resign!”, “UTG Management Ignoring Students’ Needs!” and “Justice For Our Lecturers!”.
