President Julius Maada Bio has advised the Technical university to not depend on government’s funding but to look for a mix of funding sources to run the university. 

According to Satellite Newspaper, In his statement to the Eastern Technical University Court on Saturday 23rd October 2021, President Bio started off by stating that the aim of his New Direction government is to “establish a university system that employs its own leadership as chancellors” – persons “with distinguished and proven records of higher education leadership, significant international clout and contacts (funding and research networks), and who are reform minded.”

The idea behind his higher education goal he said is to invest in workforce development and equip our labor force with the requisite skillset to rapidly unlock the great potential of this nation.

Practice-oriented technical training and entrepreneurship he added are immeasurably more valuable and relevant to national development than a classical education as we have known it since 1827.

President Bio wants to see university graduates weaned from the “Pappay you borbor dae ya” culture where university graduates scramble for scanty public sector jobs, to be replaced with a new “can-do” entrepreneurial and innovation mindset. He said, this mindset will create jobs, create wealth, and grow the economy of this nation.

“We need innovators, highly trained teachers, nurses and healthcare personnel, skilled technicians, and persons with skillsets who will transform the economy of this nation”, he speaks.

Such education he said develops human capital, creates and drives a new kind of knowledge-based economy, and nurtures opportunity and creates private sector jobs.

On the critical issue of funding, President Bio noted that the pursuit of excellence and development at our universities has usually been saddled with financial problems.

He said, Industrial actions, mismanagement, a failure to upkeep or upgrade physical and digital infrastructure, have all been lingering constraints. He stated that Government cannot singularly fully fund a university’s growth and operations. He therefore, expects that universities would expand their resources mix and not rely solely on government funding.

“Plan for a mix of university fees, university operations, entrepreneurship and investments, advocacy, research, partnerships with institutions agencies or the private sector and more. More importantly, make sure that the financial systems and control environment are always appropriate to assure solvency, financial stability, and accountability at this university” he said.