The Architectural Design for the School of Medicine & Allied Sciences
By Fatou Sillah
The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology (MoHERST) on Friday unveiled the architectural design for the new School of Medicine and Allied Sciences, set to be established at the University of The Gambia’s Faraba Banta Campus.
The design was officially presented during a press briefing held at MoHERST’s Bijilo offices. Minister of Higher Education, Professor Pierre Gomez, described the facility as a state-of-the-art academic hub that will significantly improve the quality of medical and health sciences education in The Gambia.
The proposed structure will include modern lecture halls, fully equipped laboratories, libraries, and other essential academic and research facilities. According to Professor Gomez, the project reflects the Ministry’s broader commitment to advancing higher education and strengthening the healthcare system in the country.
“The medical landscape is going to change. The Gambia will become a hub for medical education. So people will come for academic tourism and we will be able to now serve ourselves and export now skilled labour. Our doctors, our nurses will go to UK, will go to America. We will not stop them because we will have a machine that is producing year in, year out,” he said.
Also speaking at the event was Professor Herbert Robinson, Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia. He announced plans to introduce several new academic programs under the School of Medicine and Allied Sciences, including biomedical science, pharmacy, and laboratory science.
Professor Robinson highlighted the growing demand for medical education in the country, noting that capacity limitations remain a significant challenge.
“We are also going to be introducing some new programs in biomedical science, pharmacy, laboratory science and so forth. But the key challenge we face now, out of the 600 applicants, under 30% are accepted. If you look at medicine, for example, we have applications of over 270, but only about 80 are accepted. And the reason why the rest are not accepted is not because they are not qualified, it’s simply because of capacity constraints,” He Said.
The new faculty is designed to accommodate approximately 6,600 students and will serve as a key component of MoHERST’s ongoing higher education transformation initiative. It will also support the seamless transition of students from Gambia College into degree programs, expanding access to quality medical and allied health education.