By USL PR Directorate
232news
The Fourah Bay College Administration has completed a two-day training of trainers workshop in Kabala, Koindaugu District that attracted all senior and senior-supporting staff members of the college in the comprehensive use of the Learning Management Systems (LMS), otherwise known as the “University portal” for the 2022/2023 academic year.
In his opening remarks at the official opening of the workshop at the Koindugu District Council Hall on Wednesday evening, the Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of Sierra Leone (VC&P, USL), Prof. Foday Sahr said that an assessment of all tertiary institutions by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) revealed some critical gaps and therefore recommended the training of staff and a review of all curricular that are more than five years old. He noted that those exercise are ongoing by some faculties and departments while pleading with the other faculties and departments to do same.
He pointed out that USL was the first public institution to develop the portal system, noting that they invested over Two Billion (old) Leones to developing the system since he took over as VC&P in 2018. He lamented however, that while the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) and the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) have been making effective use of the portal, FBC had refused to utilize the system. He expressed optimism therefore that after the two-day engagement, FBC will be able to catch up with the other constituent colleges of the University.
In his statement, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, FBC, Prof. Kelleh Gbawuru Mansaray said this is the knowledge age anchored by new media and digital technology and called on staff of the college to join their colleagues at IPAM and COMAHS in the comprehensive use of the digital Learning Management System. He also pointed out the about 80 percent of staff of FBC are not using their official email addresses and called on them to focus on the training programme and to make the best use of the knowledge acquired to make FBC a much enviable place to pursue higher education, effective this semester that will commence of 16th January. He underscored the point that students would not be able to access the portal for services of any kind if they refused to pay their fees and register.
On her part, the USL Registrar, Mrs. Olive K. Barrie said that the University currently has an enrollment of about Twenty Thousand students and Two Thousand members of staff, noting that it is very difficult to address academic issues efficiently without the use of contemporary technology. She said since the global trend is driven with information technologically, it is mandatory that FBC and by extension, USL come onboard and turn things around otherwise, the University would be relegated to the back burner instead of being relevant in society in the context of delivering modern-day educational services.
In her remarks, the USL Finance Director, Mrs. Waltina Mackay said there is need to optimize resources mobilization, primarily through the collections of tuition fees and other charged to meet the growing running costs of the University. She pointed out that government’s subvention to public Universities is dwindling every year, noting that for the entire last academic year, USL received from government the sum of 5.4 Billion (old) Leones, which she said covered the University’s overheads for just one month. She said the University administration managed to run the institution for the entire year up to this point, thanks to funds from fees collected for the previous academic year. She said she is convinced that by using the portal system, students would pay their fees and register, is a precondition for accessing services on the portal, thereby improving the University’s income generation drive considerably. She therefore called on every faculty member and administrators to come onboard the process so that the University will be able to generate more income and by extension, meet its strategic objectives and mandates effectively.
The Dean of Postgraduate Studies, USL, Prof. Joe A.D. Alie said that staff of the University do not have a choice but to make themselves relevant in today’s learning environments. He noted that the university cannot be using yesterday’s knowledge to training today’s students for tomorrow’s challenges. Prof. Alie said it is never too late to fully migrate online for the provision of educational services despite the fact that FBC is the premium college and the oldest not only in the country and but also in sub-Saharan Africa.
Welcoming the training participants in Kabala, the Deputy Registrar, FBC, Mr. Brima Bah expressed hope that participants would be able to achieve all what was set out on the training programme schedule for the two days. He appeal for a concerted, collaborative effort for the comprehensive utilisation of the learning management system this academic year.
Meanwhile, staff of the USL ICT Directorate and their counterparts at FBC led the two-day interactive technical session with great success, leaving participants upbeat about their collective resolve to roll out the scheme this academic year.
An interesting highlight of the training in Kabala was the visits to the two paramount chiefs – PC Gbawuru Mansaray, III of Wara Wara Chiefdom and the Hon. PC Alie Balansama Marah, III of Sengbeh Chiefdom who gave their blessings to the event and shared the traditional symbolic kola nuts and water among other gifts to staff members. They commended the University authorities for their choice of venue for the training workshop and expressed hope that such a decision would inspire pupils in the District, especially the Kabala Township to work harder to pursue their education at the University of Sierra Leone.
