More unauthentic colleges to be closed

In an apparent move to establish its authority, the National Training Authority (NTA) has issued a stern warning of the possible closure of "unauthentic" colleges and other higher institutions under its jurisdiction.

This development came in the wake of a press release issued by the said institution, announcing a "temporary closure" of two institutions, Stratford College of Management and Banutu Business College.

Mr Ousman Gawlo Nyang, the director general of NTA, disclosed to the Daily Observer that more temporal closures await local colleges and training institutions that are found offering unauthentic training services in the country.  Mr Nyang noted that his institution’s quality audit visit mechanism is in place with the vision of ensuring quality course delivery programs, as well as adequate and decent learning environments.

According to Mr Nyang, his institution, which was established by an act of parliament in 2002 to regulate, supervise and monitor the functions of all public and private skills training institutions operating in the country, will not relent in its efforts to ensure that training institutions deliver quality to the maximum interest of the general public.

He went on to say that it had come to their notice that some tutors in various training institutions are without the required qualifications in their respective field of study. This, he stressed, will in no way be allowed by the NTA. "How can someone read a lecture note one night and jump into the classroom in the next morning to deliver lectures.  In order to be a qualified tutor, you must be qualified in your field of study and be accredited by the NTA to do so.  We are not denying anybody the right to teach, but we are trying to ensure quality and protect the general interest," he said.

Commenting on the recent temporal closure of the two local colleges, Mr Nyang indicated that what had happened in those colleges was a very serious matter. "At Banutu Business College in Lamin, the proprietor of the college and his wife, who were themselves tutors, were not registered with the National Training Authority," he said.
He went on to say that two of their staff had been rejected by his institution for having failed to meet their requirements.

Concerning the Stratford College, Mr Nyang disclosed that they have 26 lecturers, nine of whom had been rejected by the NTA, while 11 were not registered. He explained that only four or five of their tutors were accredited. The NTA boss reiterated that his institution is not going to accept such developments. And he went on: "People think that they can just establish a training institution with two bedrooms, some few typewriters and computers, just to rob the people. This is unacceptable in the eyes of the NTA."

Also commenting on the issue of training institutions claiming to be partners of colleges overseas, Mr Nyang indicated that the stories have been found to be untrue, and that these were mere strategies employed to gain the attention of prospective students. He promised that soon that will be a thing of the past, as his institution is set to launch a vigorous campaign against it.

He noted that training institutions in the country that claim to have partnerships with overseas colleges must provide evidence of understanding between them to the National Training Authority, without which, he said, the institutions concerned will face the consequences.