Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET), formerly known as ''Milton Margai Teachers College (MMCET)'', is a technical

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

located in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. It was established in 1963 and is named after Sierra Leone's first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, Sir

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

. The university has become affiliated with the

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted int ...

, and has been upgraded to a degree-awarding status in selected subjects.

History

Milton Margai Teachers College

Milton Margai Teachers College was founded in 1963, and was originally housed at Tower Hill in Freetown. The mission of MMTC was to

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

s for the lower levels of

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

(Forms 1 - 3). Until 1967 graduates of MMCET were awarded either a Teacher's Certificate (TC), or a Teacher's Advanced Certificate (TAC). In 1967 a new three-year programme was introduced, the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

was restructured, and both the TC and TAC where phased out and replaced with the Higher Teachers Certificate (HTC).

Milton Margai College of Education

In 1995, in response to the needs of the new 6-3-3-4 system of education, a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree programme was introduced. The 6-3-3-4 system involves six years of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

ing, three years of junior secondary schooling (JSS), three years of senior secondary schooling (SSS), and four years of

tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

. The Bachelor of Education degree programme was introduced in the specialist subject areas of

Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

and Health education,

Performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

, Practical Arts, Technical Studies,

Business Studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

, Secretariat Studies, Integrated

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, Indigenous Languages (include the Mende, Temne, Limba and Krio), Community Development Studies, Social Studies and

Religious and Moral Education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

. This significant restructuring of the curriculum meant a change in the depth and breadth of the education offered, and the name was changed to ''Milton Margai College of Education (MMCET)'' to reflect this.

Milton Margai College of Education and Technology

In 2000, ''Milton Margai College of Education'' merged with ''Freetown Technical Institute (FTI)'' at Congo Cross, and the ''Hotel and Tourism Training Institute'' at Brookfields, to become the ''Milton Margai College of Education and Technology''. This latest restructuring transforms the college into a Polytechnic. The programmes at MMCET are divided into four faculties,

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(Civil, Electrical, & Mechanical),

and

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, and

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

and

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, including Hotel and Tourism. The merger brought about a reconstruction of both staff and

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

administrative units. Within the staff unit, Dr. Dennis Kargbo was appointed Principal of the MMCET.

MMCET Programmes

*Bachelor of Education *Bachelor of Technology *Bachelor of Commerce *Bachelor of Vocational Studies *Higher National Diploma *Higher Teachers Certificate *Higher National Certificate *National Diploma *National Certificate *National Trade Certificate *Trade Test Certificate *IT Diploma

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20071124021908/http://www.mmosa.org/ {{coord, 8.4228, N, 13.2836, W, source:wikidata, display=title Universities and colleges in Sierra Leone Education in Freetown