By Olimatou Coker
The University of The Gambia Faculty and Staff Association on Wednesday recently convened a day-long capacity-building seminar for staff and faculty at the UTG Auditorium, Kanifing Campus, to enforce compliance with labour law and public accountability standards.
The seminar drew resource persons from the Office of the Ombudsman, Department of Labour, and the Access to Information Committee. It was organised under the theme “UTG Staff Training on Labour Law, Access to Information, and Ombudsman Functions: Promoting Transparency, Accountability, and Fair Labour Practices.”
It armed staff with practical command of the legal and institutional frameworks governing rights, responsibilities, and grievance handling — and impose a more transparent, fair, and disciplined work environment at UTG.
UTGFSA President Yorro Njie said the seminar’s objective is to ensure staff understand both their rights and their duties as public service officers.
“This training is very important. Every public service employee must understand their responsibilities as well as their rights,” Njie said. “If you are fighting for your rights, you also have to understand your responsibility and ensure the institution you work for is not undermined because you are failing to carry out your responsibilities.”
He urged participants to stay attentive, take notes, and ask hard questions about their rights, duties, and what must be done.
Prof Mohammed Mustapha Fanneh, Chairperson of the UTG Governing Council, said the seminar is fundamental to a just, transparent, and accountable institution.
“Universities are not merely centres of learning. They are communities of purpose. They are spaces where ideas are shaped, values are tested, and futures are powerfully constructed,” Fanneh said. “And at the heart of every great university lies one indispensable pillar — the staff. You are the pillars of this university. You are the most important pillar of the University of The Gambia. We value you highly, and that is why this capacity building is mandatory.”
Prof Fanneh directed the UTGFSA president to lock in a calendar for regular, compulsory staff training.
Dr William Jabang, Chief Director of Operations at UTG, praised the staff association executive for driving the seminar.
“This seminar will benefit all of us. The discussion must address responsibility. It will also address rights, because you cannot talk about rights and ignore responsibility — that is not fair,” Jabang said.
He said the resource persons would lay out both duties and entitlements of UTG employees. “And all of this has one aim which is to move the university from where it is to the next level,” he said.
The seminar delivered hard, practical training on labour law, access to information, and grievance handling. Participants are now expected to apply these frameworks directly to daily administrative processes at UTG — no exceptions.
