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Milton Margai Technical University (MMTU) and the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency (SLMet) are to enter into a partnership to establish “Meteorology” as a course at that University.
The Director General of SLMet, Mr. Ibrahim S. Kamara, disclosed that SLMet started the discussion a long time ago with the MMTU Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Ishmael Kebbay. This, he said, was because they felt the need to establish Meteorology as a course inside the shores of Sierra Leone.
Kamara revealed that Meteorology and Weather Science is now of importance inside Africa as a whole and West Africa in particular.
He said weather scientists in West Africa meet annually to forecast weather patterns. He said the African Development Bank already has created a special unit for weather issues.
He said amongst other aspects, certain courses in Meteorology helps planes to safely take off and land.
The Director General of SLMet underscored that such safety was their topmost priority but they also serve many other sectors. For example, he stated that SLMet gave technical advice for the construction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Foreign Service Academy at Tower Hill in Freetown.
He said they had installed air quality meters in weather stations as well as harmonised their data with other West African states.
The Ag Vice Chancellor and principal of MMTU, Prof. Philip John Kanu, underscored the relevance of the course to know when the rains would start and end as well as the amount of rainfall for a certain period and revealed that after being developed, the curriculum would be presented to experts.
According to Prof Philip John Kanu, the most difficult part for the course to start would be accreditation by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) but was optimistic that if MMTU got the technical and other support from SLMet it would be approved.
He informed that MMTU had its social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter and that they now offered short courses to meet the needs of the middle level man power.
He revealed that they wanted to train students who were marketable underlining that the need for the course need not be overstated.
He commended the Director of Short Courses at MMTU, Papa Njai stating that MMTU must be amongst those who solve societal problems.
Prof. Kanu also disclosed that after the course would have been validated by experts a lot of things would happen and that he would inform the University Court about the development.
He went on to say that after completion of the course, students could worked at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Construction, Agricultural and Mining companies as well as Research Institutions, the World Bank, Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies like Ministry of Water Resources.
He said trained meteorologists can provide key data on weather patterns especially on climate change and water scarcity and the need to harvest rain water in case of low or no rainfall.
The Ag Vice Chancellor also commended lecturers who were going the extra mile and assured them of incentives whilst he encouraged others to write projects that would attract funding.
He assured that he had a very active team that is determined to cooperate with the administration to achieve greater heights.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ishmael Kebbay, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, enlightened that geographers have a key role to play in the entire process and disclosed that he wanted to make MMTU outstanding in forging partnerships with other renowned institutions.
