The Honourable Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China during his recent visit from the 29th of May to the 2nd of June, 2023.
This was under the invitation of the Minister of Education in Beijing and the President of Zhejiang Normal University of China. Hon. Prof Gomez was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary, Dr Yusupha Touray.
The areas of Cooperation in the MoU include; training of young people in TVET, institutional partnerships with both countries, exchange programs, jointly designing talent cultivation schemes and curriculum articulation, supporting Gambian students to participate in the learning of professional programs as well as internship and training in the People’s Republic of China upon completion of the basic curriculum and foundational Chinese learning, among others.
According to Hon. Prof Gomez, the Ministry is committed to transforming the tertiary and higher education system of The Gambia into world-class standards.
Moreover, Hon. Gomez met with the President of Zhejiang Normal University Senior Management, Professor Zheng Menghuang, the University's Vice-Chancellor and Party Secretary, Professor Mao Xilong, the Director of International Office, and other senior university officials.
Significant discussions were made on; the expansion of scholarship awards to more Gambians to study at the Zhejiang Normal University of China, especially at postgraduate levels; i.e., Master’s & PhD), Joint research activities among others.
Furthermore, the Minister was invited as a guest speaker at the China-Africa Think Tank Forum. His message was centred on the Ministry’s transformation agenda which aims at improving the tertiary and higher education systems of The Gambia. He informed that The Ministry’s Strategic Plan for 2021-2025 is to establish TVET centres in every region of the country and to embed innovation and entrepreneurship in our education curricula, starting with a curriculum on science and engineering. It is against this backdrop that MoHERST; established a University of Applied Science Engineering and Technology (USET), is transforming The Gambia College into a University of Teacher Education, Building TVET Centres in Sapu & Kuntaur, and working towards the establishment of TVET Centres on Fisheries and Agribusiness, among others.
Thus, Hon. Gomez highlighted that collaborations between the People’s Republic of China and The Gambia will yield significant results, especially towards the development of tertiary and higher education systems in the country.
