THE TOP FIVE (5) BEST UNIVERSITIES IN SIERRA LEONE

If you are thinking about Studying in Sierra Leone or just wanted to know about how the educational system looks like, then I bring you the ranking of the best public and government accredited universities presently in the Nation.

Sierra Leone was the centre for Western Africa for British education in the pre-colonial era and before the nineteen eighties (1980s). During this period Sierraleone carved a name for herself when it comes to western Education. It becomes the first crown colony of Britain in 1808 and served as the administrative centre for British West African territories (Nigeria, Gambia and Gold Coast). Western Education started first in Sierra Leone: in 1827 the first British style college was built in Freetown(the capital of Sierra Leone) by the Church Missionary Society.

There are many tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone which in many peoples opinion are good. But I based my ranking from the criteria of the academic ranking of world universities from the last ten (10) years:

1.  Quality of Education based on the Performance of their Alumni
2. Quality of Faculty (qualification of lectures and Staffs)
3. Research output i.e. The successful research undertaken by the institution
4. Per capita performance of the institution  

Note: The president of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the Chancellor of all Public Universities in the Nation.

Beginning from bottom to top here we go                                                 

#5 ERNEST BAI KOROMA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (EBKUST)

Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology commonly known as EBKUST is the third public university in Sierraleone.  It was established in 2014 by act of parliament  that merged the Northern Polytechnic (Makeni), Portloko Teachers College (Portloko) and Magburaka Islamic College (Magburaka) to form EBKUST, in other  to provide university education to prospective students who wish to be admitted into higher institution especially to students in the Northern part of the Country. It was named after the former president of the Republic of Sierraleone His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma. The university operates on multi campus system with three (3) campuses in magburaka, Makeni and Portloko. Magburaka Campus which replaces the Magburaka Islamic College houses the university secretariat and the office of the vice Chancellor & Principal and the Registrar. EBKUST offers many undergraduate programs from eight (8) faculties: Agriculture and food science, Natural Resources management, Science, Education, community health Sciences, culture and religious studies, engineering and business. EBKUST offers courses and programs that are not familiar to other institutions for instance they are the only institution that offers a bachelor of science in Criminology and many others.

The university have quality staffs with high academic standards due to the blend of staffs from different academic institutions across the country who have made positive impression in their field of study. EBKUST held it first graduation ceremony in 2019 with over a thousand grandaunts from all faculties. In early 2019 EBKUST provided holiday jobs to over one thousand students to beautify the campuses such as planting of flowers, trees, painting of buildings and many more ,such gestures is not common among Academic institutions in Sierra leone. Many students from other institutions applause them especially the vice chancellor and principal Rev. prof. Edwin J.J Momoh who happens to be the Former Dean for the School of Agriculture in Njala University prior to his appointment as vice chancellor and principal of EBKUST.

There are good prospects about this institution considering for the fact that it was created few years ago, but as it stands they are fifth (5) in list of the best universities in Sierra leone.

#4 UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY (UNIMTECH)

The university of management and Technology (UNIMTECH) is privately owned and it is one the best universities in Sierra leone. Located in the Eastern part of Freetown, UNIMTECH was formerly known as IAMTECH (institute of advanced management and technology) established as a computer training school in Freetown. Today UNIMTECH has grown to provide undergraduate programs in information technology, computer science, Mining and petroleum and management sciences with well-equipped Smart boards in all lecture halls and classrooms.  In fact they are they only institution in the country that offer a higher national diploma in petroleum. This university is a hotspot for students pursuing a career in technology, business and other technology related fields.  UNIMTECH was founded in 1991 and has one of highest employment rate, you hardly see a graduate from UNIMTECH unemployed.

In terms of faculty strength, UNIMTECH have one of the best. They have part time and full-time lecturers both nationals and foreigners who are well grounded in their field.

#3 UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE (USL)

Number three (3) on the list is the University of Sierra Leone. The University of Sierra Leone came about when the nation wanted to form a unitary university to bear the name of Sierra Leone after independent. in 1972 a universities act passed by Parliament merged the Fourah Bay College (FBC) and Njala University College (NUC) to form the University of Sierra Leone.

The present University of Sierra Leone comprises of three (3) colleges; Fourah Bay College (FBC), college of medicine and Allied health Sciences (COMAHS) and the Institute of public Administration and Management (IPAM). All the three (3) Colleges and their campuses are located in Freetown. The USL is administrated by the Vice Chancellor and Principal and the colleges are headed by Deputy vice Chancellors. USL offer many courses across it colleges and it is the largest University in Sierraleone in terms of students and Staff population. 

Fourah Bay College is the oldest British style college in sub-Sahara Africa, founded in 1827 by the Church Missionary society as a bible teaching college and later affiliated to the University of Durham England. It was the centre of education in West Africa where many pastors and ordinary people from Ivory Coast, Ghana, The Gambia and Nigeria were trained, it was nicked named the “Athens of West Africa”. The first student that was admitted into the college was Samuel Ajayi Crowther. Most of the Early Educated people in West Africa were educated here, majority of Sierra Leone politicians and prominent People are Alumnus of this college. FBC offers courses from it four (4) Faculties; pure and Applied Science, Engineering and Architecture, Arts and Social Sciences and law.

IPAM was created to admit Students to study management courses, until this date. It has only one faculty i.e. the Faculty of Management Sciences. It is the first choice for many Students who want to study Accounting, Business Administration, and Financial Services, it also offers courses in Governance and leadership and Information Systems. In 2019 IPAM was awarded for best tertiary institution in the nation at “All Works Of Life” (AWOL) Awards.

COMAHS is the only medical school in Sierra Leone. Admission into this college is very competitive and expensive it consist of two (two) faculties; the faculty of Medicine and Surgery and the Faculty of Nursing. Most of the country’s medical doctors are trained in this institution.

 By performance the USL is one the best universities in the country and first choice for Secondary school graduates in Freetown. In terms of quality of education, USL students have won many prizes both nationally and internationally. It faculty is full of experienced academicians and personnel in their field, for instance the Dean for the faculty of post graduate studies Prof. Joe A.D Alie is nationally honoured by the president of the Republic for his contribution in the Academic Structure of the country.

But however in recent years the academic standards of the institution has dropped drastically due to many factors like over population, lack of research, examination malpractice and lack of introduction of new programs and courses to suit the present job demand of the 21st century. Their faculty of Engineering has faced many criticism from the public and students due to the fact that their teachings are based on theory rather than practical.

#2 UNIVERSITY OF MAKENI (UNIMAK)

At number two (2) is the University of Makeni. UNIMAK is 2^nd best university in Sierra Leone for all the reasons, ranging from quality of education to research, the institution has proven to be among the best in the nation. UNIMAK is privately owned by the Roman Catholic Church Sierra Leone and  was founded in 2005 as Fatima institute by the Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Makeni before becoming a fully accredited university in 2009. The university is located in the Northern city of Makeni and a sub campus just 6km away from the city in a village call Yoni. UNIMAK offers many courses and programs from it seven (7) faculties; Agriculture and Food Sciences, Social Sciences, law and Political Science, Commerce and Management, Information and Technology, Education, and Philosophy and Humanities. Their Department of Law has produce some of the best students from law school in recent years surpassing that of FBC.

In the area of research, UNIMAK has undertaken many with collaboration with other international institution especially in the area of Public Health. Recently UNIMAK in collaboration with Njala University and One Health from the United Kingdom discovered the Marburg virus that lives in fruits. The department of public health in UNIMAK is directly supported by the University of Cambridge (UK), University of Roma Tor Vergata (Italy) and the University of San Paulo (Spain) this has made it the best place to study Public Health.

In terms of Faculty, UNIMAK has one of the best in the Country more than fifty percent (50%) of their Staffs are international and they also have Full time, Part time and Visiting Professors from Africa, Europe and America.

If you think of studying in Sierraleone UNIMAK is not a bad choice at all.

#1 NJALA UNIVERSITY (NU)

Without no doubts Njala University is the best university in Sierra Leone for all the reasons. Founded in 1964 as an agricultural training institute by the USAID and the government of Sierra Leone and offered degrees in conjunction with the University of Illinois (USA). Njala University College and the Fourah Bay College merged to form the University of Sierra Leone in 1967 by the universities act passed in parliament which was later replaced with 1972 universities act, until 2005 when the Bo teachers college, School of paramedical studies and Njala University College merged to form Njala University. NU operates on two (2) main campuses Njala campus and Bo campus respectively. In terms of number of courses and programs offered, NU is the largest in the nation with over 40 academic departments and more than 120 programs in it  eight (8) schools . The university is located about 125miles east of Freetown to it main campus (Njala) which houses the university secretariat and the senate Court. Despite the university holds the record for the highest number strike actions in the country, but NU is still the second largest university in the nation by student population. Njala university offers wide range of courses and programs to fit the job demand of the 21^st century, from their eight (8) schools consisting of ; Agriculture and Food Science, Technology, Social Sciences and Law, Natural Resources management, Education, Environmental Sciences, Community Health Sciences and the Schools of Postgraduate Studies.

In the Area of research, the Njala University is the best research institution in the country with well-equipped laboratories and this can be observed from the entrance of the university and the location of their research schools in their main campus (Njala campus). Njala campus occupied a land mass of more than 20 hectares of land in Moyamba district southern region of Sierra Leone. Just recently Njala University, UNIMAK and One Health (UK) discovered the Marburg virus found in fruits and NU was the host of that research. NU also host the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI) that works in conjunction with the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. There are a lot of research institutes in Njala University ranging from health and sanitation, Agriculture, Science, Natural Resources etc. Due to the quality of Research Njala University has produced many prominent scientists like the late Dr. Amadu Matturi who discovered the formula for Benny mix baby food and also a onetime VC&P, prof. Monty Jones co-winner of the world food prize for his discovery of the Nerica rice for Africa.

In the area of staffs, NU has one the best they have the highest number of Ph.D. holders in the country. The have both part-time and full-time lectures in all their schools especially the school of post graduate studies. Collaborations and support from affiliate institutions like the University of Illinois and recently MIT has given them an edge over all other institutions in the country and international recognition. Njala University is the only university in Sierra Leone that is ranked among the first eight thousand (8,000) Universities in the World.

In case you want to study in Sierra Leone, NU provides you with the opportunity to achieve your dreams in an environment devoid of distraction. It also gives you the privilege to share the same Alma Mata with the former Director General of UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella and also the First presenter of the Program FOCUS ON AFRICA on BBC NEWS and former government Minister Dr. Julius Spencer.

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