The President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio has been removed as as chancellor of the Universities of Sierra Leone.

The Minister of Technical and Higher Education Alpha Tejan Wurie confirmed this development while speaking about the new University Act 2021 on Thursday.

He said the president will no longer serves as chancellor of the Universities of Sierra Leone but will appoint persons with proven record of high moral rectitude and integrity, sound academic background and distinguished career, to serve in the capacity as chancellor of the respective universities for a term of 3-years.

He was speaking at yesterday Thursday 15th July 2021, government weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communication conference room in Freetown, where he stated, the university bill being an Act, is repealing and replacing the University of Sierra Leone Act 2005, to provide for the continuation of the University of Sierra Leone.

Minister Wurie said the act provides for Njala University, the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, the establishment of Milton Margai Technical University, the Eastern Technical University of Sierra Leone, and the Kono University of Science and Technology, to appoint Chancellors of these Universities by the President, and to provide for the establishment of other public universities and private universities, and to provide for other related matters.

The Minister said, the Act also provides for an increased women representation in all statutory bodies of the universities, students’ representation at the university court, and coordination committee.

He said there will be representations from the technical bodies in technical university courses, recognition of tertiary institution in the area of Post graduate college of Medicine, and Surgery, Pharmacy, Nurses, Engineering, Professional institutes, Law Schools, Theological Colleges, etc.