By By Musa O Bah & Mustapha Jarju
Minister for Transport, Works and Infrastructure, Ebrima Sillah on Wednesday 23rd November 2022, on behalf of President Adama Barrow who is currently on a nationwide tour, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET), in Wassu, Central River Region, attended by Pierre Gomez, Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, and other officials.
Minister Sillah accompanied by the Minister of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology, Pierre Gomez laid the foundation of the University which is expected to ease and strengthen access to tertiary education for the rural people.
The construction of the said annex will be the first university to be constructed by the Gambia government in rural Gambia under the leadership of President Adama Barrow.
Speaking at the laying of the foundation, Minister Sillah said, the centre will play an essential role in helping its trainees use entrepreneurial skills for development. This includes the critical high-skill areas of Gambians such as engineering and technology in the country’s transition to industrialisation.
Minister Sillah added that the government of President Adama Barrow has achieved a lot yet there are a lot of achievements in the pipeline once this university is completed.
“It is a critical input in providing development on poverty alleviation, evidence has it that the ability of the government to access, select, adopt and use scientific and technological knowledge will increasingly be determinant of the material well-being of life of their citizens,” Sillah said.
He continued that; this university project will promote the skills training education system in the Gambia which will be more responsive to labour market demand.
President Adama Barrow and his delegation on Wednesday also visited several project sites currently ongoing in rural Gambia such as the construction of the road along the Senegambia bridge, and the new Bambali- Sara-Kunda Road in Njey Sanjal district.
In appreciation, the Alkalo of Madina, Lamin Kanteh Ba Jumbo Juwara expressed joy full with excitement for his area having such an opportunity of this kind of training center.
He said the skill center is for the youths of the country both men and women and he, therefore, urged all the youths to take active part in the skills center for the betterment of their future.
Chief Perreh Bah said having the skill center in the Central River Region will not only benefit the youths of the region but the country in general.
He noted that most of the youths travel through backway because there is no job opportunity but a training centre of this kind will help to reduce the backway journey among the youths.
Henrietta Sonko the coordinator of MRC Holland Project said the government is helping the youths of the country but the youths also should get ready and support themselves because any acquired skills is something that will last long.
The programs to be offered at the center when ready include general agriculture, automotive engineering, mechanical engineering, electricity, construction and more.
