President Yahya Jammeh has challenged the newly graduates of the University of The Gambia to contribute to the country’s development and transformation process.
Jammeh, who doubles as chancellor of the country’s highest learning institution was speaking on Thursday at the 7th convocation ceremony of the seventh batch of graduands of UTG.
The event took place for the first time at the new UTG project site in Faraba Banta village, Kombo East district of the West Coast region of The Gambia.
The 7th convocation ceremony saw the conferring of masters’ and bachelors’ degrees on 453 students, out of which 14 received masters’ degree in various fields of studies. Diplomas and certificates were awarded to 1,726 Gambia College students.
The Gambian leader reminded the newly  graduates that he’d during his inauguration into office for the fourth five-year mandate declared 2012 as the “Year of Science and Technology”. Urging the graduates to contribute to the attainment of the objectives of this declaration, President Jammeh stressed that the declaration ought to be appreciated as a building block meant to uplift The Gambia to global recognition.
“The output of the university vis-à-vis the type of graduates you produce, the contribution of your research endeavours to national development and the degree of innovation you foster will ultimately determine the UTG’s status and relevance as an institution of higher learning. Therefore, the onus rests on you to recruit and retain the caliber of faculties, and strive for such outcomes,” he added.
President Jammeh averred that the university has a very significant role to play in the government’s quest to transform the country into the economic superpower they aspire for, which he said is linked to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) objectives and the Vision 2020.
“What we want is not only for the university to produce quality graduates, but also useful graduates; ones that will be useful anywhere in the world,” he said.
Also speaking at the event was the vice chancellor of the UTG, Professor Muhammadou Kah, who highlighted on the reforms at UTG. “Our focus on continuous improvement in the areas of teaching quality, research, programme delivery and learning outcomes ensure that we stay the course in our bid to put the UTG on the path to become a world-class university,” he said.
Kah added: “The rich history of the UTG has evolved from inspiration to impact and we are putting more emphasis in supporting teaching and research with a view to the long-term future of the UTG.
“UTG is fully cognizant that world changing discoveries and ideas have to be nurtured and is aware of the expectations placed on her to be a developmental university fully engaged in innovations and coming up with solutions to the socio-economic problems facing most countries in Africa and beyond.”
Meanwhile, as part of activities marking the seventh convocation ceremony, the chancellor and president of the Republic Thursday inaugurated the University Village Project, as well as launched the UTG Science, Technology and Innovation Park.