By Patrick N. Mensah, Maryland
William V.S. Tubman University, the second state-owned university located in Southeast Liberia has for the first time administered its first graduate school entrance in Harper City, Electoral district#1, Maryland County.
The entrance examination was administered on January 21, 2023, bringing together several graduates from River Gee, Grand Kru, Grand Gedeh, Sinoe and other counties in Liberia.
Addressing reporters in the county over the weekend, the Acting President of the University, Dr. Emmanuel Wreh, said over 200 candidates wrote the entrance examination in the county.
Dr. Wreh said the graduate programs will enable students who don’t have an opportunity to travel to Monrovia, and other parts of the world for post-graduate studies to do their master’s in the Southeast of the country.
He explained that the University will offer Master’s programs for the six (6) colleges there, including the College of Education, College of Agriculture, College of Engineering, College of Business and Administration, College of Arts and Science, and College of Health.
He stressed that they will offer Master’s program in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership from the College of Education, Master’s of International Resources from the College of Business and Administration, Master’s of Demographics and Population Study from the College of Arts and Sciences, Master’s of Science degree in Agronomy from the College of Agriculture and Master’s of Engineering Management from the College of Engineering, respectively.
The TU Acting President also indicated that the graduate programs will be run by several Ph.D. Professors, who are expected to be in Liberia within the coming days.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
According to him, out of the number expected, about 12 professors are currently available on campus and they all will be included in the program.
He called on graduates of the University and other universities across the globe to take advantage of the Master’s program, noting that classes begin officially in March.
Meanwhile, candidates, who wrote the entrance on Saturday, January 21, 2023, have expressed excitement for offering such opportunity in the Southeast.
“We are indeed grateful to the administration of William V.S. Tubman University for offering graduate programs because many of us have obtained Bachelor’s degrees, but due to lack of support, we are unable to travel out of the Southeastern counties of Liberia to do our Master’s programs but thank God for bringing Tubman University in Maryland; therefore, we are hoping that all of us will successfully pass the examination”, they said.
Earlier Tubman College, the William V. S. Tubman University is currently the only institution of higher learning in the entire southeast.
TC was established in 1978 as a gift from the people of Maryland County to Liberia’s 19th President, the late William V. S. Tubman, on his 75th birthday.
The institution began with an initial enrolment of 87 students and produced about 60 percent of Liberia’s technocrats in the fields of architectural, civil and electrical engineering, and electrical and mechanical engineering, respectively.
Enrollment increased to 221 and the College of Technology graduated students with Associate degrees in these fields.
By 1990, the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) in Liberia elevated TC to a 5-year Bachelor of Science degree program.
In September 2009, the Act establishing the William V.S. Tubman University was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the President of the Republic, granting the institution a legitimate university status. Currently, the university operates six (6) colleges including the original College of Engineering and Technology; College of Education; College of Management and Administration; College of Agriculture and Food Sciences; College of Health Sciences; and the College of Arts and Sciences. Editing by Jonathan Browne
