By Jerry T. Myers Jr., switchnaas1988@gmail.com, Cell # (231)770017207/(231) 886976541
Sanniquellie, Liberia- If all goes well, the Nimba County Community College is to be given a full-fledged University status after certain things have been put in place, the new President of the NCCC says.
NCCC’s President Dr. Edward Lama Wonkeryor did not give a definite timeline, but he told this Reporter that his administration is well on course to ensuring that the dream by the people of Nimba to have their community college become a university is actualized.
Nimba County Community College was established in 2011 by the government of Liberia to provide quality education for people in Nimba and other rural parts.
National Commission on Higher Education as requirements for the upgrading of a college to University status.
He said an application has already been sent to the NCHE for the NCCC’s upgrading.
“I have Submitted an application to the National Commission on Higher Education to elevate our college to a four year degree granting Institution, and so what is left, is the assessment team from the Commission to come and do a very inclusive assessment of our Institution, thus determining the validity of our request to become a four full-fledge University. After the assessment, we will be given a temporary university status, while we await enactment by the Liberia Legislature to make us full-fledged university,” the NCCC President lamented.
Dr. Wonkeryor, who is former President of the Tubman University in Maryland County, explained that as part of the strategic plan of the college, his administration has embarked upon the recruitment of qualified instructors with advanced degrees in various areas of disciplines.
“We have about 50% of our Instructors who possess undergraduate degree; about 25% to 30% who possess master or graduate degrees and for terminal / PhD degrees, we have about 0.2 or 0.3%. So what we are trying to do now is to also encourage some of our junior faculties to pursue advanced degrees in their various specialties at the Njala University in Sierra Leone and two are also in China pursuing advanced degrees,’’ the Nimba Community College boss said.
The college is also exploring the possibilities of sending junior and senior faculty member to pursue advanced degrees abroad, including the United States, South Africa or at the Kwame Nkrumah University of science and Technology in Ghana as well as locally at the Cuttington University and University of Liberia.
Commenting on infrastructural development at the NCCC, Dr. Wonkeryor disclosed that the Liberian government has given the college a grant of US$500,000.00 for the construction of staff housing and a dormitory to host students and teachers coming from outside of Sanniquellie.
There is said to be an urgent need to construct additional classrooms to to accommodate the rising number of students, the President of the Community College said.
This institution plans to beef up its technical departments to meet the developmental needs of the country.
The NCCC President said with the growing demand for institutions of higher learning in Liberia, there is a need to establish more of them in Nimba and upgrading of the existing one to meet the manpower development needs of Liberia.