Education Minister Sonii demands revision for NCHE’s newly instituted policy affecting universities’ and colleges’ Presidents
Monrovia: Liberia’s Education Minister, Professor Ansu Dao Sonii has demanded revision into the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) newly instituted policy that compels all Presidents and Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs at universities and colleges to obtain a ‘’Doctorate Degree” as a pre-requisite that determines the qualification of presidents and vice presidents serving at higher learning academic institutions across the country.
The NCHE which is a government agency charged with the responsibility of evaluating, accrediting, and establishing institutions of higher learning across the country, through a release attributed its newly instituted policy to strengthening regulations and upholding standards within universities and colleges operating in Liberia.
Speaking further on the instituted policy by NCHE on Thursday at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing, Professor Sonii ordered that the newly formed policy be halted and undergo more revision jointly by the Education Ministry and the National Commission on Higher Education to ascertain existing policies and management of tertiary institutions in the country.
‘’A few days ago there was a publication to all institutions of higher learning, that if your president/vice president for Academic Affairs, if they have not earned a PhDs then they must resign effective immediately, my first thought was, this country is not an institution that has offered one Ph.D., let assume that it was even the case and all these presidents and academic presidents decide to resign, there are one hundred people who would have resigned, tell me the lists of the PhDs that are an academic administrator that will fill this places?
And if not after a while the students who have paid the fees in those schools and institutions will demand, and that demand could be disruptive, I am sure you want that. I deal with principles, we have a circular and a secretariat, the first thing is before the institution was founded, before the policies were established, it came from the secretariat to the board and together we circulate it. All I have said is that that process must be respective’’ Minister Sonii pointed out.
Professor Sonii additionally mentioned that a policy of such nature by NCHE through the leadership of its Director General was necessary to have taken into consideration a joint body by the secretariat and the board by extension, something he said a single hand cannot do due to the general overview of the academic setting.
‘’When you want to implement a policy like this, effective immediately then it must be done jointly with the secretariat and the board, why? There is the reason why, all education offices go with an advisory board, because there no human being on earth who has a singular knowledge, skill, and authority to decide education matters’’; he flagged.
The Education Boss who is officially responsible to regulates educational activities in the country said, his action of suspending and demanding revision of the policy is not to battle regulations exercised at higher academic learning institutions, but to see an in-depth deliberations necessity towards the policy line with principles.
Minister Sonii, however, said his order was put in place following several requests sent to the NCHE to reconsider and allow the Ministry of Education to cross-check the instituted policy which he believes has a strong nature.
Meanwhile, He wondered if the publication of such a policy by NCHE could render due diligence to the previous decision that granted Presidents of colleges and universities permits to serve at distinct higher learning institutions.
‘’That means the due diligence that we did was insignificant to have rendered the judgment to give them a permit to run colleges or universities, he narrated.
His statement is coming days following the policy that highly gets the attention of heads of tertiary institutions operating across the country.
W. Roland James is a Journalist by Profession; a Public Speaker and Interested-Advocate, who is determing to render essential conderable service to the Liberian Society.
He has a passion in Sports reporting, Human interest stories and overall reports from all sectors of relative to the field of journalism. He stands by the belief in the profession that ‘’The Public journal is a public trust; and that a journalist shoud only writes what he/she holds in heart to be true’’.