By Foday Moriba Conteh
The University of Sierra Leone on Tuesday, 28th February,2023 ended its annual traditional matriculation ceremony at the Samuel Adjai Crowther Amphitheatre at Fourah Bay College for the 2022/2023 academic year during which students were officially admitted into the various programmes and courses for which they applied and were admitted to pursue.
During the ceremony, some 3,000 students of Fourah Bay College signed the University Register and were assigned their unique University Numbers.
Earlier, on the 16th and 23rd February, some 3,500 students of the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and 1,400 students of the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) respectively also signed the University Register and were assigned their University numbers.
In his address during the ceremonies across the three campuses, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, USL, Prof. Foday Sahr, admonished the newly admitted students to live by their promises to conform to the tenets and discipline of the University and to abide by all statutes, regulations and rules that are in force in the day-to-day administration of the institution.
Addressing them as students of IPAM, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Associate Prof. Miriam Conteh-Morgan said they are committed to provide an enriching experience in and out of the classroom. “We want to train and educate – training you in your chosen field of study and also educate the whole person so you are not only intellectually prepared but also socially, morally and culturally prepared to serve this country and represent us globally,” she assured the students.
Speaking to the newly admitted students of COMAHS at their Kossoh Town Campus, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mohamed Samai pointed out that every year enrolment at the college keeps increasing thereby creating the need for additional facilities and personnel to cope with the increase in number of applicants annually. “We shall not relent in calling on Government, partners and other stakeholders to continue to give us the much-needed support for us to maintain our pride of place in society and to continue to provide the health care professionals this country deserves,” he said. Prof. Samai encouraged the students not to lose sight of the purpose of their being at COMAHS.
At the Samuel Adjai Crowther Amphitheatre on FBC Campus, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kelleh Gbawuru Mansaray told matriculants of FBC that payment of their college fees would enable his administration to implement transformative programmes, projects and activities that would accelerate the restoration of the past glory of the college.
“We have a portfolio of projects, which include the construction of lecture rooms, enhancement of the college’s ICT infrastructure and wide availability of internet service to faculty, staff and students, expansion of the students’ and staff quarters, fencing of the campus, equipping labs, providing transportation facility for students and ensuring a secure and conducive campus for learning and living of residents, including staff and students,” he intimated the audience.
Meanwhile, the number of FBC matriculants brings the total number of students to about 8,000 that were officially admitted this academic year by the University; the largest number of students to matriculate since the USL was granted a Royal Charter to run as a University on the 21st December, 1959.
