On the 3rd of April, 2023, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology set up a committee on the transformation of The Gambia College into a University of Teacher Education. Members of the Committee were formally invited to an inaugural meeting by the Hon. Minister, Professor Pierre Gomez.
In his remarks, the Hon. Minister expressed his appreciation and thanked the members for accepting his invitation. He informed them that the purpose of the meeting is for the Committee to help think and come up with a clear roadmap to transform the Gambia College into a University of Teacher Education. The Minister also shared with the committee that the College has come up with a proposal for the transformation and it is for the Committee to scrutinize it and have a strong proposal.
Furthermore, Hon. Prof Gomez highlighted that the constituent schools of the College will be transferred to the University of The Gambia (UTG), such as the School of Agriculture, School of Nursing and Midwifery, and School of Public Health, while the UTG School of Education will be moved to the Gambia College. The College will be solely responsible for Teacher Education in general. It will also maintain its Diploma programs and offer degree programs in specialist fields of study. The structure, curriculum, entry requirements, and other related matters will be addressed. The new dispensation will allow students to transit to the university with their Diploma certificates and spend less time acquiring their degrees.
According to the Hon. Minister, the process of transformation will be supported by Government investing its resources and working with our donor partners. He stressed the need for the country to graduate from focusing on quantity to quality and be able to compete with other sister countries under the West African Examination Certificate (WAEC). He finally tasked the team under the leadership of the Chairman, Dr. Katim S. Touray to look forward to a strong and well-articulated policy and roadmap and to propose possible names for the new University.
The meeting was chaired by the Permanent Secretary of MoHERST, Dr. Yusupha Touray. Dr Touray assured committee members that management will be closely working with them as they embark on their assignment of transforming the Gambia College into a Teacher Education University.
