The President of students’ with special needs at Fourah Bay College, Fatmata Jalloh has expressed thanks and appreciation to  the Ministry of  Technical and Higher education for soldiering the payment of their graduation fees.

President Jalloh  confirms  that the Ministry  facilitated the waiving of the fees for the 2022 disabled graduands of Fourah Bay . She further admonished  students with Special needs to be grateful to the University of Sierra Leone for waiving the graduation fees. President Jalloh made this statements in an exclusive interview with the Sierraloaded news desk.

President Jalloh revealed that she cannot express the joy she felt when she got the confirmation about the waiving of their 2022 graduation fees.

 

 

She recalled that it all started when she wrote a letter of appeal to the University of Sierra Leone requesting the waiving of their Graduation fees. She confirms that she first copy the deputy registered and other relevant authorities with the request of waiving 2022 graduation fees for students with Special needs. She further revealed that the rationale behind the appeal is that things are very difficult considering financial constraints that are common among students with special needs.

President Jalloh confessed that the one million five hundred thousand[Leones]  graduation fees should have served as a  major limitation that would have prevented them from graduating. However, she thanked the Almighty God and the University of Sierra Leone for their timely intervention. She confirms that the fees concession doesn’t come as a result of the country’s disability Act but because the University has a love for disabled students.

She expresses optimism that the University of Sierra Leone will create a level playing field so that more students with Special needs will graduate and become somebody in society.

She confirms that she wrote the letter of appeal not in partnership with the college students Union, but as President of the students with Special needs.

She pointed out that the University of Sierra Leone Authorities should further Improve the disability-friendly center on the campus by equipping it with Computers and internet facilities. She believes this will facilitate disabled students’ research work during their academic studies.

She further admonished students with special needs to always remember the university of Sierra Leone. She further confirmed that nine students with Special needs graduated this year from Fourah Bay College.

She further encourages other disabled students to take up the challenge to access higher education. She acknowledges the fact some disabled students complained of financial challenges. However, She encourages them to persevere because everything about life is a risk. She believes in the mantra that students with special needs must stand up and take the risk. They should be patient in the process of seeking Knowledge. She affirmed.

President Jalloh concluded by thanking the Government of Sierra and the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education for their timely intervention.