The Sierra Leone House of Parliament through the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Technical and Higher Education has supported the dissolution of the University of Sierra Leone Court by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education.
According to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Technical and Higher Education, the non-compliance with their recommendations to resolve the crisis in the university led to the action by the oversight Ministry to dissolve the Court and order the constitution of an oversight committee to address the issues currently facing the university, not least the recruitment of a substantive Vice Chancellor and Principal to replace Professor Sahr Foday who was recently appointed to head the National Public Health Agency.
According to a letter dated 30th January 2024 from the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education to the Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Dr Sampha Koroma, the dissolution of the university court came following reported dispute over leadership at the university.
The letter from the ministry noted that after the enactment of the Universities Act of 2021, the Court of the University of Sierra Leone (USL) failed to appoint a Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university as stipulated in Section 9 (1) of the said Act noting that, in the absence of the substantive Vice Chancellor and Principal (VC&P), the Pro- Vice Chancellor acts in his/her stead. Thus, on the appointment of the then substantive Vice Chancellor and Principal Prof. FodaySahr as Executive Director of the National Public Health Agency, there was no Pro-vice Chancellor to act in his stead.
The letter reads:
“The Ministry of Technical and Higher Education note with grave concern that after the enactment of the Universities Act of 2021, the Court of the University of Sierra Leone (USL) failed to appoint a Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university as stipulated in Section 9 (1) of the said Act. I trust you are aware that in the absence of the substantive Vice Chancellor and Principal (VC&P), the Pro- Vice Chancellor acts in his/her stead.
“Thus on the appointment of the then substantive Vice Chancellor and Principal Prof. FodaySahr as Executive Director of the National Public Health Agency, there was no Pro-vice Chancellor to act in his stead. Consequently you were duly consulted by the Minister of Technical and Higher Education about the implications of the absence of a Pro-Vice Chancellor and the urgent need to replace the erstwhile Vice Chancellor and Principal. You reached a consensus with the minister for the latter to take appropriate action and keep you posted. Based on the aforementioned consultation, the ministry appointed Prof. Lawrence Kamara to fill the void and initiate action to recruit and cause the appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor and Principal for USL in accordance with Section 8 subsections (1) (2) and (3) of the Universities Act of 2021.”
The Ministry says they are concerned that the Court did not allow the appointed Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal to function. “Instead you presided over the appointment of parallel Acting VC&P contrary to the agreement you had with the minister.”
“You would recall that several attempts have been made by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and recently, the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Technical and Higher Education to address the seeming impasse under review but to no avail. You may also wish to note that the calendar of events submitted to the ministry by the University Administration contained among other events the congregation ceremony of students scheduled to graduate at the end of the 2022/23 academic year,” the Ministry stated.
The letter continued that, as per plan, the said ceremony was to be conducted during the third week of December, 2023. “Under your watch, the USL administration did not hold the ceremony on the grounds that the Academic Staff Associations of the various public higher education institutions had issued an industrial strike notice in respect of their conditions of service. You are aware that the MTHE reached a negotiated settlement with the academic staff associations in time for the congregation to be conducted,” the Higher Education Ministry addressed the Vice Chancellor.
The Ministry called on the university administration to respect their calendar and conduct the said ceremony because of the inherent implications for graduating students. “Strangely, the USL Administration did not countenance the appeals on the grounds that the Court of the USL had taken a decision to defer the congregation ceremony to April, 2024 and insisted that the ‘decision of the Court is sacrosanct’ and therefore could not negotiate any other date prior April, 2024, While your Court’s sacrosancity on the issue persist to date, the MTHE is currently appealing to the graduands of the USL for the 2022/23 academic year to be patient. Furthermore, again under your watch, the USL Administration deliberately levied high non-tuition fees (other charges) on students without recourse to the supervising ministry and or the expressed approval by the USL Court,” the letter noted.
The Ministry emphasized that the Government of Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, has deemed it expedient to dissolve the Court of the University of Sierra Leone with immediate effect.
“I am constrained to inform you that all decisions taken by the said Court post appointment of the Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal (Prof. Lawrence Kamara) are null and void. In order to manage the transition, an Interim Management Committee will be installed soonest,” the Ministry ordered.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, January 2nd, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)