Higher education minister, Badara Joof, has vowed to defy president Barrow’s orders in his bid to root out corruption in the higher education sector despite risks to his job security.
His comments followed the introduction of a bill at the National Assembly to regulate the higher education sector. According to The Standard newspaper, the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority ((NAQAA) Act, seeks to offer a comprehensive solution for efficient control and oversight of tertiary and higher education institutions in the country.
“To open a university in The Gambia, until this bill is passed, one must pay D75,000,00 while for a tertiary institution, the fee is D50,000,00. This does not make sense because the tuition fee for one or two students will cover that cost and that is it! No wonder standards are where they are.
You cannot go and rent a house in Banjulinding, Lamin or London Corner and call it a university, without even professors or lecturers in the most relevant subjects. We have raided most of them with the help of the Inspector General of Police to close them. Some have gone even to the level of the president and are trying to lobby behind doors for us to accept it. But I am putting my job on the line for it. I don’t want to be associated with a legacy of mediocrity”.