The University of the Gambia (UTG) is an institution of higher education located in Sere Kunda, the largest city in

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

History

The campus was founded in 1998 in Kotu-

Kanifing Kanifing (also Kanifeng) is a town in the Gambia, and lies immediately west of the capital city of Banjul. The Kanifing Local Government Area has the largest population of any of the administrative districts in Gambia. It includes Serrekunda, th ...

, a suburb of Sere Kunda. It was not until March 1999 that the UTG started to offer courses, following a law passed by the

National Assembly of the Gambia The National Assembly of the Gambia is the unicameral legislature of the Gambia. The authorisation for the National Assembly lies in Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Gambia. It is composed of 53 members directly elected through first past ...

. In 1999, 300 students are reported to have been enrolled. As of 2002, the number of

academic staff Academic personnel, also known as faculty member or member of the faculty (in North American usage) or academics or academic staff (in British, Australia, and New Zealand usage), are vague terms that describe teachers or research staff of a school ...

was 44. In 2006, nearly 2000 students were enrolled. The Gambian government has planned to create a new campus at

Faraba Banta Faraba Banta is a small town in south-western Gambia. It is located in Kombo East District in the Western Division. As of 2009, it has an estimated population of 3, 626. The town was the site of the Faraba shooting The Faraba shooting was an ...

Schools

The UTG is composed of several schools (or faculties) : *School of Agriculture and Environment Sciences, Brikama *School of Arts and Sciences, Faraba *School of Business and Public Administration *School of Education *Faculty of Law *School of Journalism and Digital Media, Kanifing *School of Engineering and Architecture *School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences *School of Information Technology and Communications *School of Graduate Studies and Research * UTG Digital Campus * UTG North Bank Campus, Farafenni

Degrees

The qualifications that can be attained include : *Bachelor in Education *Bachelor of Arts in Christian Religious Studies *Bachelor of Law (LLB) *Bachelor of Medicine / Surgery (MBChB) *Bachelor of Science in Accounting *Bachelor of Science in Agriculture *Bachelor of Science in Biology *Bachelor of Science in Chemistry *Bachelor of Science in Communications & Media *Bachelor of Science in Computer Science *Bachelor of Science in Economics *Bachelor of Science in Environment Science *Bachelor of Science in Information Systems *Bachelor of Science in Management *Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Midwifery *Bachelor of Science in Physics *Bachelor of science in Planning and Design *Bachelor of Science in Political Science *Bachelor of Science in Public Health *Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering *Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications & Wireless Technologies *Master of Arts in African History *Master of Arts in French *Master of Law (LLM) *Master of Science in Climate Change and Education (WASCAL Master Research Program) *Master of Science in Public Health

Academic staff

Notable past and present

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

s at the UTG include the following: * PaSara Drammeh, IT Manager *

Alhaji Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof (22 October 1924 – 2 April 2011) commonly known as Cham Joof or Alhaji Cham Joof, ( pen name: Alh. A.E. Cham Joof) was a Gambian historian, politician, author, trade unionist, broadcaster, radio programme director, ...

, lecturer of history. *

Musu Bakoto Sawo MUSU may refer to * University of Melbourne Student Union, one of several student organisations at the University of Melbourne, Australia * University of Manchester Students' Union, student organisation of the University of Manchester, England * ...

, lecturer in international human rights law and winner of the "2020 African of the Year Award" from ''

Daily Trust Media Trust is a privately held Nigerian newspaper publishing company based in Abuja that publishes the English-language ''Daily Trust'', ''Weekly Trust'', ''Sunday Trust'' and the Hausa-language ''Aminiya'' newspapers, as well as a new pan-Afric ...

''. *Bukhari M.S. Sillah, lecturer of economics. *

Saja Taal Alieu Badara Saja Taal (March 22, 1944 – April 2, 2014) was a Gambian academic and politician. Taal was born in Banjul. He completed his high school education at Methodist High School before receiving his B.A.(hons) and M.A. degrees at the Univ ...

, lecturer in political science.

Role in public health

On October 11, 2012, it was reported that the university has started two master's degree programs in public health in collaboration with the

University of Illinois at Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois ...

and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. According to Vaccine News Daily: "Rex Kuye, the head of the public health department, said that the two programs were conceived of locally to address growing health concerns in the Gambia. The Gambia has made many public health strides in the last two decades. The nation was certified as polio free in 2004 and has had no confirmed

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

cases since that time. The success in the battle against polio resulted from high political commitment and routine polio immunization coverage of more than 90 percent since 1990, according to the Foroyaa Newspaper."Paul Tinder
"University of The Gambia launches public health masters programs"
Vaccine News Daily, 11 Oct 2012

References

External links

Official website of The University of The Gambia

{{DEFAULTSORT:The Gambia, University of the Educational institutions established in 1999 1999 establishments in the Gambia