MTHE Hosts Chief Minister on Institutional Needs

The Ministry of Technical and Higher Education has held discussions with the Chief Minister, Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, on key areas of support for the Ministry. The meeting took place at the Ministry's conference room at New England Ville.

In his statement, the Minster of Technical and Higher Education, Prof. Alpha Tejan Wurie, stressed the need to critically look at the Ministry from its two main arms, vis-à-vis the technical arm and the higher education arm. He intimated the Chief Minister on the inexistence of a Directorate of Higher Education in the Ministry since its establishment, recommending that there be some form of consultancy in a bid to address the existing gap. According to Prof. Wurie, the Directorate of Research, Planning and Development needs more personnel to enhance efficiency its quality of service delivery. He further mentioned the inadequacy of water in the public universities with specific reference to Fourah Bay College, especially in the dry season, entreating the Office of the Chief Minister to see how electronic water pump and a storage tank for raw water could be made available to deal with such concern. Prof. Alpha Wurie further mentioned that Njala University has over the years generated its own water and electricity which has been quite challenging to them as a university, commending the Chief Minister for exhibiting leadership in approaching Orange to provide Njala with a 500-kva generator.

The Chief Minister, Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, thanked the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education for hosting him, applauding Prof. Wurie for his tremendous outputs in ensuring that technical and higher education are properly heightened. He mentioned the centrality of his Office in coordinating, facilitating and following-up on the mandate of other ministries, departments and agencies. According to Mr. Saffa, the Office of the Chief Minister was initially created without knowledge of its operational mandate, adding that key amongst the reason for his visit was to enhance better understanding of his role as Chief Minister, recognize key deliverables of the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education in terms of its ongoing projects, its challenges, and how his office can used to render support. He assured the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education of his unflinching commitment to ensuring that its existing challenges are addressed.