History (for the wrong reasons) will be made at the University of Sierra Leone (USL) this week when the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE)-handpicked and illegitimate “Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal” Professor Aiah Lebbie will preside over matriculation ceremonies after two failed attempts to hold the event.
The illegal appointment of the new Vice Chancellor followed the resignation of Professor Lawrence Kamara who was also appointed by the MTHE under the same circumstance but later resigned owing to an uproar. Both appointments were done by the ministry in a blatant contravention of Sections 8(5) and 9(1) of the Universities Act of 2021 which state thus:
Where the office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal is vacant or, if for any reason, he is unable to perform the duties of his office, the Pro Vice-Chancellor shall perform the duties of the Vice-chancellor and Principal until the Vice-Chancellor and Principal resumes his duties or another is appointed in his stead [Section 8(5)];
A University shall have a Pro Vice-Chancellor who shall be appointed by the Court from among the Deputy Vice Chancellors of the University. [Section 9(1)].
Suffice it to note that the Universities Act of 2021 did not make any provision for an “Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal” but instead made provision for a “Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal who should act as Vice Chancellor and Principal whenever the situation demands according to the Act, thus making Professor Aiah Lebbie illegitimate to preside over such an important official ceremony in the lives of university students.
The question therefore on the lips of concerned and right-thinking people is whether holding such an important ceremony presided over by an illegitimate university leadership makes the students legitimate students of the University of Sierra Leone.
A lawyer who works for the University of Sierra Leone who speaks to this press on condition of anonymity opines that the student could be challenged in the future for not being legitimately welcomed into the fold of the university of Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, the said matriculation ceremonies are scheduled for the newly-enrolled students of Fourah Bay College (FBC), Institute of Public administration and Management (IPAM) and College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) for the 19th, 21st and 22nd March 2024.