������Ƶ

By: Alhaji Umaru Gbow

Credit: Public Relations Assistant, ������Ƶ University (Ayuba Koroma)

University Secretariat, ������Ƶ Campus – 13th June 2025— ������Ƶ University’s Bo Campus Centre for Pedagogical Excellence has yesterday formally welcomed over 500 undergraduate and postgraduate freshmen enrolled in its Distance Education Programme for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 academic years. The matriculation ceremony, held in Lunsar Town, brought together students from five distance learning centres — Lunsar, Kono, Freetown, Waterloo, and Yele.

Moderated by Mr. Paul K. Ngaujah, Deputy Registrar of Bo Campus, the event marked the first cluster of matriculation for the University’s distance learners and symbolised a bold step toward making quality higher education more accessible to communities across the country.

Delivering a stirring welcome address, Paramount Chief Koblo Queen II of Marampa Chiefdom, Port Loko district hailed the event as both historic and transformative. “This ceremony is more than just a formality,” he stated. “It is a declaration that higher education no longer belongs solely to the cities — it has arrived in the towns, communities, and chiefdoms.”

PC Koblo Queen II commended the leadership of ������Ƶ University for recognising the strategic importance of the northern region in Sierra Leone’s national development agenda. He announced that local mining companies — including Marampa Mines Limited and CTC Bauxite Mining Company — have expressed their commitment to supporting the University’s distance education programme with financial and infrastructural backing.

“We are not merely hosts,” he stressed. “We are active partners. We stand ready to provide land, resources, and community support to grow this initiative.”

“This programme is not only for school leavers,” PC Koblo Queen II reminded the gathering. “It is for Okada riders with ambition, for market women with vision, for miners with dreams. This is the golden opportunity they have been waiting for.”

Welcoming the matriculants officially, Professor Mohamed Syed Fofanah, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of ������Ƶ University and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Bo Campus, described the occasion as a symbol of hope and opportunity. “Today you join a community of scholars and leaders who passed through the gates of ������Ƶ University,” he said. “But more importantly, you become part of a new generation — one that blends flexibility with focus and pursues academic excellence regardless of distance or circumstance.”

Professor Fofanah closed his address by calling on all sectors of society — from government to private industry — to invest in the expansion of distance education as a tool for national development. “Education is the great equaliser,” he said. “It can raise a miner to the level of manager, a farmer’s child to that of professor. Let us build not just rich communities, but enlightened ones.”

The formal presentation of students was conducted by the Deputy Registrar, after which the freshmen took the matriculation oath — pledging to uphold the values and regulations of the university — and signed the official student register.

Parents, guardians, tutors, and local dignitaries filled the venue in Lunsar with pride and excitement as they watched their loved ones take this pivotal step toward a brighter future. Many in attendance noted the significance of the moment for traditionally underserved populations, including adult learners, working professionals, market women, and even miners.

© Public Relations Unit, ������Ƶ University