After two years break owning to COVID-19 restrictions, the Murialdo Institute of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MIMETECH) on Saturday, March 26, 2022 held their 14th annual graduation ceremony on their Low Cost Campus, Kissy in Freetown.
This year’s ceremony covered students who had completed their courses in the 2018/2019 academic year, making the total number of graduands rise to 350.
Students were awarded Higher National Diplomas (HNDs), and National Certificates in various technical and vocational fields of training, including Electrical and Electronics, Civil Engineering, Catering and Hotel Services, Computer Hardware, Human Resource and Business Administrations, among others.
Gracing the occasion included the Director of National Council for Technical and Vocational Awards (NCTVA) Ing. Mohamed Jalloh, representatives from the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education (MHTE) and other technical institutions, the local Member of Parliament, the Right Reverend Father Augustine Lebbie of the Catholic Mission and other eminent personalities.
The programme was preceded by colourful processions of the graduands to their respective seats, and principal and staff to the dais to welcome the visiting dignitaries and declare the ceremony open.
Chairman of the occasion, Aron P. Koroma introduced members of the high table, whom he described as mentors that have immensely contributed to the development of technical education in Sierra Leone. As a man who went through the rubrics of technical education, the chairman said technical skills make the middle manpower that is critical to the development of any nation. He thanked the school administration for creating the difference, and congratulated the graduands for not relenting amidst all the financial constraints and hard times endured to get through their courses.
The NCTVA National Director, Ing, Mohamed Jalloh said he would not wait to grace the occasion even for a moment because of the esteem in which NCTVA holds Murialdo Institute. “I am here for two reasons; firstly to let the principal, Bro. Joseph know that at the NCTVA, we hold him in high respect and very proud of his leadership at Murialdo for creating the difference. When we want to show case an example of a successful technical institution in Sierra Leone, we consider Murialdo and St. Joseph.”
Secondly, he said, he was there to pay tribute to Father Giuliano Pini, now resident in Nigeria for his resolve to make Murialdo an institution of excellence. He said, “With this type of excellence, we look forward to making Murialdo a Technical University in the near future.” He praised the staff for their selflessness in imparting skills in the students; and congratulated the students for completing their courses, and to demonstrate humbleness outside for which students from Murialdo are known.
The chairman thanked Ing. Jalloh for the accolade. He assured the Director of improved standards as he revealed that they were putting up a state-of-the-art Technical Auto Training Centre to add to what they offer to make Murialdo fly higher.
MHTE representative, Simeon Sandy extolled the administration for good work; saying the Ministry recognizes Murialdo as one of the best institutes well equipped for technical education in the country. While congratulating the students for “passing out”, he admonished them to be polite and soft in dealing with people who are the market. “Your socialization helps you get jobs, not just the papers,” he noted; saying they should also take the challenge to further their technical education as there are a lot of scholarship opportunities for further training abroad.
The guest speaker, Madam Sallay SS Lawson dilated on the importance of technical education as she emphasized that skills training was integral to national development. She also spoke at length on the need to support institutions offering technical courses because in her words “a country must only develop with adequate manpower in technical education”.
Principal Bro. Joseph Tarawalli thanked all for gracing the occasion. He gave a special address to the graduands to make ‘good use of their hands to develop Sierra Leone’.
Preceding the climax of the occasion was a skit by the Murialdo Choir with the slogan “You want to get moral, come to Murialdo”. The students danced to the brace band rhythm they lined up to the dais to receive their certificates.
By Abdulaziz Samura