Nigeria’s support boosts higher education in The Gambia – Minister

Pierre Gomez, Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology of The Gambia, has lauded the Nigerian government for its continued support in transforming The Gambia’s education sector.

He highlighted the significant impact of Nigerian professors deployed under the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (TAC) program, particularly in strengthening engineering education at the University of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology (USET).

Gomez, who led a Gambian delegation to the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps headquarters in Abuja, expressed his government’s deep appreciation for the intervention. According to him, the contributions of Nigerian engineering professors have led to a remarkable increase in student enrollment at USET, from 47 to over 200 within the last academic session.

“The dynamism brought in by these Nigerian professionals is changing the narrative of our higher education sector.

“They have introduced innovative and self-sustaining initiatives that are gradually reducing our universities’ dependence on government funding”, he said.

The Minister also announced The Gambia’s plans to establish a new University of Education and revealed that his country is looking towards Nigeria once again for guidance in developing it into a center of excellence.

The Gambian delegation also requested for more Nigerian education professionals to mentor teachers and administrators in The Gambia.

“Your engineering professors have exceeded our expectations in transforming technical education. Now, we are asking for more – we need your education experts to help train our teachers and administrators”, Gomez stated.

In response, Yusuf Yakub, Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to supporting The Gambia’s educational development.

He assured that the necessary arrangements would be made to deploy more Nigerian professionals in the coming weeks.

“The whole idea of the TAC program is to bridge developmental gaps among brother nations in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries,” Buba said.

He emphasized that the impact of Nigeria’s assistance would be felt for the next two decades as the newly established University of Education would play a crucial role in producing a skilled teaching workforce.

The Gambian delegation included Alieu Senghore, Chairman of the University of Education, The Gambia; Aboubacarr Jallow, Provost of the University; Mr. Siaka Saidilzigh, a Principal Assistant Secretary at the Gambian Ministry of Higher Education; and Mr. Babucarr Dumbuya, First Secretary at the Gambian High Commission in Abuja.

From the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, key officials present included  Zakari Usman, Director of Programmes at TAC, and Lawandy Bala, Special Assistant to the Director-General on Protocol Matters.