By Fatoumatta Joof
The Deputy Permanent Secretary (Technical) of the Ministry Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr. Mucktarr M.Y Darboe, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, on Friday, 3rd November 2023 received in audience a delegation from St Petersburg State University of Russia.
The purpose of the courtesy visit was to discuss possible ways of deepening the partnership between the Ministry and St. Petersburg State University for the advancement tertiary and higher education in The Gambia and Russia.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Ms. Anna (Njie) Semenova said the meeting was aimed to result in the development of a framework agreement between the two institutions which will be anchored on the provision of scholarships and other development programmes. She disclosed that, St Petersburg State University has 27000 students and provides 1000 open scholarships globally in different academic disciplines, and that out of these they have allocated 15 scholarship slots to The Gambia. She revealed that only 7 out of the 15 slots were utilised based on entry requirements and other admission processes.
In welcoming the delegation, the Deputy Permanent Secretary thanked the Russian delegation for their timely visit. He assured them that the ministry will ensure that The Gambia utilises the available scholarship slots for Gambian students to study in Russia. He thanked the Russian government for providing support to the government of The Gambia; especially in higher education sector.
The Principal Research Officer, Mrs. Kumba Jammeh, affirmed that MoHERST has benefited from bilateral scholarships agreement from Russia and will be ready to develop a framework agreement with the University.
She affirmed that MoHERST is passionate about TVET and hands-on education and that the Ministry would be delighted to get support in terms of scholarships in those areas; specifically engineering and technology affiliated disciplines.
