By Ruth Yeabu Sesay
The University of Sierra Leone (USL) will today end its week-long graduation ceremony for the award of various degrees, diplomas, and certificates for its three constituent colleges of Fourah Bay College (FBC), the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) with a total of three thousand four hundred graduands (3,400).
The Graduation ceremony started with Fourah Bay College on the 12th of April followed by IPAM, and COMAHS on the 13th and 14th of April, 2023 respectively at FBC’s Amphitheatre at Mount Aureol in Freetown.
Speaking to Politico, the Public Relations Officer of USL James Tamba Lebbie told Politico that one thousand three hundred (1,300) students graduated from the Institute of Public Administration, one thousand eight hundred (1, 800) from Fourah Bay College (FBC) and three hundred (300) from COMAHS.
Lebbie said that “the graduation ceremony is going according to plan but that there are challenges of crowd control and duplication of invites.” As a result, he said the police cannot tell which invite is authentic from the fake.
This he added has led to overcrowding and improper vehicle control.
He stated that as a means of stopping duplication of invites the university administration will work on providing invitation cards with security features that cannot be easily forged.
Speaking to Politico, a graduand from FBC, Ibrahim Yusuf Conteh noted that it has been a mixture of excitement and challenges studying and graduating with a good result from the Aureol campus. He said one had to endure the burden of hectic studies to sail through the course.
Sharing his experience with Politico of his university days, he said he was excited about scoring an A in his first year at the college. He advised those studying at FBC to keep the fire burning by studying hard to hit the mark that they so desire.
Conteh stated that, preparations are going on smoothly and that he was all set for the “big day” today.
One of the 2023 Law graduands, Mohamed Lamin Gbla also told Politico that one of the challenges they faced is the delay to publish the names of would-be graduands.
He said the college administration assured them that they will be publishing the names of graduands on time, noting that the delay in doing so was a result of delays in payment of fees and other dues. He said that for their part, the delay started with the late publication of dissertation grades.
Gbla stated that his experience in studying Law has been the same as any other academic field and that one has to endure it. He said it was initially tough and challenging with regards to lectures, but said the construction of the Tunde Cole building eased students’ constraints on campus.
He went on to praise lecturers in his department whom he said are mostly Judges, yet still deliver lectures on time. He said the most memorable experience for him as a student of FBC is being able to represent the college in Egypt for a competition with the then Law Society President.
“It was a very memorable time for me because being a country representative is huge and I experienced being out of Sierra Leone for the first time and that opportunity was afforded by FBC,” he said.
He concluded by expressing happiness to bag his first degree and advised students aspiring to study Law not to give up on their dreams and to strive for what they want to achieve in life.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (14/04/23)
