The Milton Margai Technical University (MMTU) on Saturday 28 January 2023 graduated 115 students from its Skills Development Fund (SDF) project funded by the World Bank through the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education.
The ceremony took place at the Hotel and Tourism Training Centre, Brookfields, west of Freetown. The 115 students graduated in Tourism, Hotel Management and Innovation.
The sector is female dominated with 70% female and 30% male students. The students graduated in various areas including Confectionery, Fashion and Tailoring, Hospitality Innovation, Food and Beverage, Food Production and Services and Tourism Management.
The Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Professor Dr Alpha Wurie in his keynote address, reiterated that the trend was now on technical education after 196 years of the grammar school type of education in the country.
He noted that, “the project developed skills development and systems, trained 21,000 nationwide out of which 4,900 are already employed” and that the project was focusing on youths, women and the disadvantaged.
According to the Minister, the curriculum was also reviewed to address all the gaps in the job market. He maintained that the graduates were the pioneers who had passion for technical education and that the Ministry would focus on the best.
Earlier in his welcome address the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Director of Academic Affairs at MMTU, Dr Mohamed Alie Jalloh, commended the Minister of Education and team for all what they had done to midwife the MMTU.
Dr Jalloh stated that this was the first of several graduations and that they took their mandate very seriously as the institution wanted to diversify and differentiate from other institutions of higher learning. He assured that the graduates would not be job seekers but job creators as well as entrepreneurs, adding further that the graduates were the best among the rest and hoped that they would purse higher courses up to Masters and PhD levels.
He revealed that a lot of transformations had taken place at the Brookfields campus which had now been transformed to the queen of the university.
In his overview of the SDP project, Dr Alhaji Sankoh recalled that it was launched on 17 March 2021 to train 400 students in four years in tourism, hotel management and entrepreneurship. He said the main objective of the project was to review the existing curriculum to meet the market demands, adding that the review of the curriculum was robust.
Dr Sankoh disclosed that they also partnered with existing operators as well as incorporated them into the project, repaired facilities, printed training materials, procured safety gears for staff and students and underscored that the graduates were of high quality.
Komba Moiwa, from the National Council for Technical/Vocational and other Academic Awards (NCTVA), disclosed that technical education was now the norm worldwide. He noted that it was relevant to national development, especially the President’s human capital development that underlined technical education.
Dr Philip John Kanu, Vice Chancellor and Principal of MMTU, disclosed that they wanted to create impact in the middle-level power needs of the country as well a teacher education which was the foundation of the institution.
He stated that they had received a lot of supports from the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, stressing that the Ministry had repositioned itself to support technical education. He urged the graduates to continue with their Masters and PhDs and asked them not to change their courses of study.
The Chancellor of MMTU, Dr Victor Kabia, presented certificates to the graduates assisted by the Acting Dean, Faculty of Hotel Tourism and Nutritional Sciences, Ms. Aminata Bangura.
Highlights of the ceremony were the presentation of certificates to the graduates, procession of graduates to the venue, performances by the brass band and musical performances by the students.