January 27, 2022
By: Ilyasa Baa
The expansion of the Njala University to Bonthe district in the southern region of Sierra Leone has been widely welcome by both students and stakeholders of the district as plans are underway for the transformation of the Bonthe Technical Training College into a full-scale Njala campus.
Njala had affiliated with the Bonthe Technical Training College since 2005, according to the Mayor of the Bonthe Municipality, Mayor Sandy, there is strong commitment on the part of the government to ensure that tertiary education is on the door step of students residing in the district whom he said have been faced with a lot of constraints attending university outside their comfort zone. He said they are doing the needful and currently working closely with the administration of the Njala University to expedite the process. He noted that they establishment of the Njala campus will help restore the glory of Bonthe district which he said had been neglected by past governments.
The Public Relations Officer of the Njala University, Ralph Simeone Sesay said pursuant to the 2021 University Act, the University deems it fit to expand its campus to Bonthe and introduce courses for the benefit of Sierra Leoneans and the country at large. He noted that the university’s task force has been working on the plan looking at the infrastructure, staff capacity amongst other things. He maintained that with the introduction of Diploma and degree courses up to Masters Level, Sierra Leoneans in that part of the country will be opportune to study at ease.
Sylvester Lansana, a student of Njala Mokonde campus hailed the plan noting that the proposed campus in Bonthe Island would make education more accessible to students from that area. He lamented over the conditions faced by them as students noting that transportation and feeding challenges will be over when the campus commences lectures.
The Youths Chairman of Bonthe District, Mustapha Kelli has lauded this plan noting that the youths of the district will now enter university in their district instead of travelling far away. He narrated that the burden was huge since they have to travel all the way to Bo,Makeni, Freetown and so on just to acquire university education. He commended the government of President Dr. Julius Maada Bio for prioritizing education as the engine of national development.