I am aware that some of us may have forgotten or in fact are not familiar with the enviable designation of Sierra Leone as the Athens of West Africa, for its role as the epicentre of higher learning in both its African and International context.
Today however, not only have we lost that pivotal role, our tertiary institutions have lost that internationally reputed cutting edge of the past, due to the distressed economy, centuries old system of knowledge organization; largely influenced by 19th century academic traditions, lack of modern facilities for teaching and research as well as by long-standing problems of efficiency, equity, quality and several other complex political, economic and social challenges in our milestone, which have robbed off negatively on educational development.
Indeed, it is an unfortunate reality that educational development, in the real sense of it, has been on the reverse gear for a while and this rather disconcerting position, given the importance of education in general and the role universities are expected to play in the development of a nation in particular, has resulted in our educational system losing its competitiveness.
Aside these, perhaps the most formidable task confronting higher education in Sierra Leone today, is the drive, especially under the New Direction vision, to articulate the triple relationship between the mission of the university and the specific needs of university’s political, social, economic, and cultural environment, and the characteristics of a rapidly changing world.
It is an established fact that for a nation to make meaningful progress, it needs an educated citizenry and for its universities to reorganize its fundamental role and responsibility in shaping the human resources necessary for socio-economic, cultural and political development. Such needs are particularly pressing in the science-based programmes, where research equipment and tools are constantly evolving.
Let me say that the government, while not unaware of the magnitude and dimension of the problems of our Universities, is simply constrained mainly by inadequate financial resources which emphasises why events such as we are witnessing today, have become a necessity.
Endowment has an important role in universities as it not only creates a sense of ownership and belonging in which the alumni and other important constituents create and maintain a stake in the status, growth and development of the University, but it also provides valuable support and today, reputable universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale among others, have endowment funds running into tens of billions of Dollars.
In those climes, endowment is the main source of funding and it helps to deal with financial challenges brought about by diminishing government funding as well as provide a source of extra revenue for better facilities for teaching, learning and research.
From my long-standing association with the Ernest Bai Koroma University Of Science and Technology, through the annual award to the best male and female graduate by the Adonis Abboud Trust Foundation, I am aware that the dream is to position it as a top and reputable dynamic epicentre of University education that is able to provide world-class intellectual environment, by investing in training of the manpower to drive the economy and deliver on the government’s agenda and the National Vision.
The hope I understand, is that the 800 million Leones Endowment Fund of the University will provide access to more resources to make this dream come true and redress the unfortunate environmentally depressing and learning situation whereby for students, higher education is simply a means to acquire certificates, and not the development of their cognitive and social powers.
As time goes on, the growing and changing nature of higher education, will further trigger strong economic forces which will compound the inability of the traditional source of funding by government to keep pace with the growing demand. These financial and administrative limitations, lack of resources, intellectual stimulation and incentives, therefore demand that we find new strategies to advance this ambition.
If we add this fact to the reality that our societal needs, economic realities and technology are likely to drive a massive restructuring of higher education enterprise, it means we need our traditional learning institutions to partner with other knowledge-intensive organizations such as information services, companies and telecommunications.
For example thinking about partnering with mobile networks to create a plan which will allow interested people to credit the account of a university of their choice, with certain percentage, by dialling codes or each time they recharge their mobile lines.
I also urge the government to further liberalise investment in education and assist universities to run properly, through research grants, endowment funds and different packages of interests on loans.
Government should also consider the possibility of partnering with reputable public-spirited individuals, corporate bodies, national and multi-national organisations to broaden sources of funding for education as only viable partnership would enable the nation attain its projected educational benchmarks.
What we do wrong with policies in the country is that we simply don’t properly implement them, or we end up producing a carte blanche that will for example, force Universities of technology to operate like conventional ones.
As it strives to assist in providing quality education, I believe one of the most important challenges the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology faces at this point, is to address the imbalance between its endowment resources and the remarkable breadth of its academic and research programmes making it imperative that it intensifies its overall financial sources.
No doubt, the University has made appreciable impact on the national landscape since its formation, especially in the area of high-level manpower development. It is regrettable, however, that its dreams are still in the womb of fruition because of the unfavourable economic environment and the myriad of other problems within the body polity of the nation.
Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen, it is in response to the challenges facing this great institution in the realisation of its noble goals that we are all gathered here today and I am joining the council of the university to solicit the support of each and every one of you here present, to be part of this endeavour by contributing generously to the initiative that will move EBKUST forward to being, not only to a University of Technology in all its ramifications, but also to the status of an internationally acclaimed ‘Centre of Excellence in Technological Research’.
At this point, as the Dean of the Consular Corp in Sierra Leone, I am appealing passionately to the diplomatic community and will also like to invite our foreign friends from the embassies and multinational corporations and organisations, to help provide to EBKUST, the much needed assistance in its quest.
Your assistance could be in the form of research equipment, or other materials produced in your home countries as well as helping to facilitate close relationship with Universities in your countries or the establishment of exchange programmes.
May I congratulate the institution on its developmental aspirations and plans as contained in its strategic plans for the future which we are told would be unveiled at the dinner; as well as the School of Post Graduate Studies, meant to redress the slow pace of technological development in Sierra Leone.
By this initiative, it is letting the nation and indeed the whole world know that programmatic renewal and innovation are the lifeblood of the institution as it aspires to excellences across the widest spectrum of endeavour.
But neither is possible without sustained support from endowment funding.
So I kindly implore you to be a partner in progress.
