The Gambian Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology, Pierre Gomez, has praised Nigeria for its continued contributions to transforming The Gambia’s education sector.
He highlighted the impact of Nigerian professors deployed under the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (TAC) program, particularly in enhancing engineering education at the University of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology (USET). According to Gomez, their expertise has led to a significant rise in student enrollment, increasing from 47 to over 200 in the last academic session.
“These professionals are reshaping our higher education landscape with innovative and self-sustaining initiatives, reducing universities’ reliance on government funding,” Gomez stated.
He also announced plans to establish a new University of Education and expressed The Gambia’s interest in Nigeria’s guidance to develop it into a center of excellence. The Gambian delegation requested additional Nigerian education experts to mentor teachers and administrators.
In response, Yusuf Yakub, Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to supporting The Gambia’s educational development. He assured that more professionals would be deployed in the coming weeks, emphasizing that their contributions would have a lasting impact on the country’s education system.
