Banjul, 10th April 2025: The Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST) last week revealed that the Gambia Government will construct a state-of-the-art School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, worth about 46 million dollars at the University of The Gambia (UTG) Faraba Banta Campus.
Professor Pierre Gomez made this revelation at a press briefing held at the MoHERST conference hall in Bijilo. He also revealed that the Lot 2 of the Fixed Package of the University of The Gambia (UTG) Development Project, Faraba Banta Campus, will be inaugurated by President Adama Barrow on 27th December 2025.
He informed that the inauguration of the Lot 2 Fixed Package will be done together with the official laying of the foundation stone for Lot 3 of the Fixed Package of the University of The Gambia (UTG) Development Project, Faraba Banta Campus, which is the State of-the-art School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences.
Minister Gomez further highlighted the recently inaugurated schools of Lot 1 and disclosed the premium of Lot 2 which he said included the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the Faculty of Law and the 7-storey Chancery building.
He pointed out that moving to Faraba was irreversible; that it was a permanent transfer which was based on a clear vision, high sense of patriotism, commitment and the readiness to serve and to change the higher education trajectory and for national interest.
He said that his Ministry has been instructed by President Adama Barrow to implement and complete Lot 1 and Lot 2 projects in two years, saying that the mission must be accomplished, adding that the Gambia will become a hub for medical education where people will come for academic tourism.
He advanced that the project includes 16 state-of-the-art medical laboratories for the first time in the history of The Gambia, and capacity building for the lecturers with some lecturers given training packages for specialisations in other universities.
The Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of The Gambia, Prof Herbert Robinson, welcomed the initiative and thanked the Minister for such incredible initiative, saying that these developments are critical as the country strengthens its higher education infrastructure in The Gambia.
“The UTG is the primary University of The Gambia and we are currently 7500 students. We have four schools constructed as part of Lot 1 of the Faraba Banta campus. They include: school of Business and Public Administration; School of ICT; School of Arts and Sciences; School of Education, Library and villas that are also constructed as part of Lot 1 of the Faraba Banta Project,” he said.
He acknowledged that the Minister has been working with the team of consultants and contractors to move into Lot 3 which is the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences.
“Currently we have about 600 applications for School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences and these are in key areas of medicine, nursing and public health. Therefore, Lot 3 is significant because in addition to catering for the expansion that would be needed in those core programmes, we are also going to introduce some new programmes in Bio Medical Science, pharmacy, laboratory science and other related areas,” he elaborated.
The VC mentioned that the key challenge they are faced with now is that out of 600 applicants only 30% are accepted due to capacity constraints.
The presser was moderated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Ambassador Jainaba Jagne, who highlighted the timeliness and significance of the UTG project.
By Fatoumata Joof
