The lack of enough good working University buses at the Fourah Bay College has caused transportation problems for students as they have to wait for hours for the single bus that is in good condition to take them to and fro campus.

The issue of transport constraints has been a long-existing problem on Fourah Bay College campus. The university admits huge number of students every year but fail to arrange adequate transport to cope with the number, souces say.

The campus of the Fourah Bay College is situated in Mount Aureole, Freetown. It is the oldest University in the Sub-Saharan Africa, established in 1827. The University buses ply a single route to the campus to pick and drop students, leaving the ones using the others like the Imat-Leicester route to cater for themselves.

Voicing their grievances, a number of students complained of having to go through the agony of waiting in a long queue for hours to be picked up by the university bus.

A student said they have to queue for hours to board a bus to and fro campus as there is only one bus working at the moment. He said the Students Union Government needs to be structured and they should lay emphasis on the welfare of students.

Another student said the traveling agony had taken its toll on their studies as many of them miss classes due to the delays. She said transportation constraints did not start today, noting that it has been a big problem since she was admitted in 2021.

Abdul Ibrahim Sesay, Minister of Transportation of the Student Union government, said they are aware of the problems faced by the students, adding that the situation would be improved by next month.

He confirmed that they have engaged the university administration and that they have come to an agreement to add one bus to the other buses of the university. He revealed that the university has secured another 32-seater bus for students which will start to operate next month.

However, students say the provision of two buses cannot entirely mitigate the transportation constraints they face on a daily basis.

“An institution like FBC shouldn’t be constrained with transportation,” a final year student said.