By Ibraheem Daramy
There was one John Idris Lahai (PhD), who lifted the lid on a tertiary institution in the West Urban district. It came under the spotlight when they held a graduation ceremony under a mango tree which unsurprising rose to celebrity status. Quite bizarrely though, the then police boss, AIG Sovula was seen fully dressed in his academic robe ready for the occasion. This period saw some notable individuals like, Umar Paran Tarawallie, Clerk of Parliament, making some adjustments on their CVs. In acknowledging the problem, the Sierra Leone Parliament instituted a committee headed by Honourable Kandeh Kolleh Yumkellah to look into it. Whatever happens to the outcome of the work of that committee, I wouldn’t know. No wonder the standard of our education has come in for intense scrutiny ever since.
The Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology (EBKUST), Professor Edwin J. J. Momoh, had to convene a press conference at the auditorium of their campus in Makeni on the 22nd October, 2024.
In his opening remark, the VC said academics do not fancy press conferences, they are primarily focused on teaching and research. However, he went on, events on the Makeni campus have necessitated his action. He said in his company to Romania quite recently were two (2) students studying geography, they’ll be staying there for the time being. He played a rather worrying audio for his audience – I can only describe its author as a tribal bigot. We must therefore roundly condemn it.He said there are people with the notion that EKBUST is only meant for people from the northern province – it is a public university established to cater for Sierra Leoneans and even foreign nationals.
He said the university Act was amended in 2014 to create EBKUST. Following that immediately, was the constitution of a court headed by the chancellor, which he described as the highest authority. He said the university’s first policy is on examinations, there’s no mentioning of assessment grades anywhere. He said the 30% score on continuous assessment was just a standing order, and was meant to encourage students to do their assignments etc. But reminded his audience it can be rescinded by the court, if the they have a reason to do so. He said it is the responsibility of the administration to ensure the integrity of the exams they conduct. He said they outsourced the invigilation of their exams to the army and some principals in Makeni. That was because it would have asked too much of his staff. He said even after graduation, the university has the authority to withdraw its certificate, if they have to.
He said universities are aristocratic, they are supposed to shape society. But unfortunately today, the eloquent Professor went on, there are people who are inciting his students against his administration. And with regards to those on the university payroll that have a hand in it, he said the court is dealing with that separately – so he’s holding on to related details. He said there are over three thousand (3000) student IDs ready for collection just for Makeni campus, only ninety eight (98) have picked up theirs so far. With regards to the colours, he said there are students who would turn up in the queue even when they’d received theirs years ago.
Some of the revelations were sickening. There were scripts where students scored maximum marks for merely rewriting the questions – there was no attempt to answer any question. A class of over one hundred (100) got a uniform grade of 20 in their continuous assessment. And for a module in business economics, all made the C grade. The ten (10) extra marks added by examiners were selective. Another disturbing discovery was, examiners gave high marks to high performing students in the exams, but it is the reverse in the continuous assessment. It’s obvious the intention there was to bring them at per with their hardworking colleagues. The university court ordered the administration not to include the continuous assessment grades because the process has been misused.
When the VC completed his address to the media, as anchor of the program, someone approached me and asked that i allow him address the audience on behalf of the Academic Staff Association (ASA). I respectfully told him he would only end up opening the floodgate on his colleagues that had a hand in the selling of grades. He looked surprise at my boldness before he walked off like a man who just lost a fortune in a lottery. As he took leave of me, a young man probably in his mid thirties made a gentle appeal so I’ll let him address the audience. He said, your man, the VC, has threatened to have them dismissed, and he wasn’t comfortable with that statement. With sarcasm, I asked if he was one of them. He said no. Then I said he should not be bothered at all if he’s clean. With the revelations so far, it’s safe for me to say the reason advanced by the VC for outsourcing the invigilation of the exams was more about the cloud surrounding the integrity of his staff than he’ll have us believe.
Other speakers on the occasion were the Brigade Commander 4 Infantry Brigade, the Regional Police Commander Northeast and the Provincial Security Coordinator of the Office of National Security (ONS).
