MONROVIA – The Director General of the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE), Dr. Edward Lama Wonkeryor has said that the Commission is in full support of the proposed amendment to the University of Liberia’s charter so as to The essence of the proposed initiative is to address, accommodate, and legitimize the changes that have taken place in the scope of university’s operations which also includes the expansion of their program delivery just as the BlueCrest University College has applied for permit to grant her to offer Master’s degree in Information Technology(IT)
According to a press release from the NCHE and signed by Emmanuel Godfavior Nyan Gweh, Communication Director, Dr. Wonkeryor spoke Monday August 22, 2022 during a public hearing at the Senate Committee on Education and Public Administration on the invitation of the Senate to deliberate on a request to revise and restate the charter of the University of Liberia, and another request, to grant Bluecrest University College a charter.
He said the renowned educator reminded the lawmakers that while it is indisputable that the legislature has all the power and authority to charter a University, yet it is the statutory responsibility and function of the National Commission on Higher Education to approve all programs [both old and new] in order to legitimize the operations and programs of all tertiary institutions across the nation.
According to the present charter, the University of Liberia administers undergraduate colleges and programs, professional schools, the graduate school and institutes respectively
“Though we are in full support of this proposed amendment of the charter of the University of Liberia, yet we want to point out that the NCHE would have first of all granted the University of Liberia program accreditation and, then, be the very one to recommend and present them to the legislature for the charter. We recommend that the legislature may go ahead to amend the charter of the University of Liberia, however, we very strongly recommend that, in the future, the right procedure should be followed in line with the act that established the NCH”, Dr. Wonkeryor said.
On the application of BlueCrest University College, Dr. Wonkeryor announced that the NCHE is currently processing the institution’s application for accreditation for graduate program in IT. He expressed the hope that it will be approved by the Board of Commissioners of the NCHE, in no distant time.
“As a matter of fact, we have already completed our assessment of BlueCrest University’s proposed graduate program and our report is being submitted to the NCHE Board of Commissioners, for review and determination. We therefore suggest that this honorable committee exercise a little more patience, to allow the Board of Commissioners of the NCHE to complete the accreditation process for BlueCrest University College before the charter can be approved by the legislature,” he said.
The National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) was established to formulate policy guidelines for the establishment of higher education institutions in Liberia; monitor, evaluate and accreditate institutions of higher learning; approve new and existing programs of higher education for funding; review existing programs at institutions of higher education with the aim of establishing priority programs of study based on national needs.
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