Gambia’s Higher Education Minister Ties Campus Expansion to Staff Upgrades

By Seedy Jobe

The government is preparing a broad expansion of public higher education, pairing new construction and degree programs with an investment in faculty training, according to the country’s minister of higher education.

Appearing on the current affairs program “Final Take” on Saturday, Feb. 28, Prof. Pierre Gomez, the minister of higher education, research, science, and technology, said the transformation of the sector would depend as much on people as on buildings.

“We cannot talk about transformation without also upgrading our people,” Prof. Gomez said. “Our staff must be sent for higher-level training at the doctoral level.”

The ministry has begun renovations and new construction at the University of Education, The Gambia, formerly known as Gambia College. More than 10 staff members are currently pursuing doctoral degrees in Nigeria, he said, with others enrolled in programs in China and Japan.

The government is covering tuition costs and providing each staff member with a monthly stipend of $850 while they pursue their studies, he added.

The university plans to introduce new degree offerings, including professional programs in international relations and diplomacy. A separate institution, the Civil Service University, will focus on addressing skills gaps within the public sector.

As part of the reorganization, the Faculty of Law and the School of Journalism will relocate to the Faraba Banta campus, where renovation work is underway.

Like universities across the region, Gambian institutions face financial constraints. Prof. Gomez acknowledged that public funding often falls short of institutional needs.

“It is true—all over—for universities, the money that is given to them will never be enough,” he said. “All our universities need more money.”

But he urged administrators and faculty members to adopt a problem-solving approach rather than dwell on limitations. “One of the reasons why we went to school is to ensure that whenever we have challenges, we do not go to the ‘bantaba’ and complain,” he said, referring to the traditional communal meeting place. “We invoke Plan B and come up with solutions.”

He pointed to the development of the Faraba campus and the introduction of engineering programs at the University of Science, Engineering, and Technology as examples of progress despite limited resources.

“Not only are we able to run now three engineering programs for the first time in the history of the Gambia after 61 years,” he said, emphasizing the programs’ impact on national development.

Training Gambians to lead development efforts is central to the ministry’s strategy, Prof. Gomez said, arguing that external funding and loans should ultimately benefit domestic professionals and companies.

“No country has developed without its own people,” he said. “When we get grants in millions of dollars, when we get loans, we must be able to pay our own people, our own brothers and sisters with their companies.”

Looking ahead, the ministry plans to introduce computer engineering and expand instruction in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — areas Prof. Gomez said would be essential to preparing Gambians for a rapidly changing global economy.