“If educational institutions are inundated with corruption, the resultant effects will be far greater than the individual benefits some rogues receive.” Head, Public Health Department, School of Community Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Njala University, Kowama Campus in Bo, Abu Bakarr S. Kamara, made these remarks in a sensitization meeting held by the Southern Region office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday 24^th February, 2022.

Mr. Kamara encouraged students and lecturers to imbibe the values of integrity and honesty and put into practice anti-corruption messages delivered by the ACC.

In his statement at the University’s Korwama Campus Conference Hall, ACC’s Senior Public Education Officer, Abdulai Saccoh, said education and health are fundamental sectors that should be treated with utmost seriousness because the survival of a nation-state hinges on them.

Mr. Saccoh said the medical profession is a respectable one but greed and the insatiable appetite for materialism has exposed it to ridicule and loss of public trust. He said integrity and ethical values are the tenets students should imbibe in order to change the face of public sector institutions. “When an academic environment is replete with illegal admissions, cheating, academic malpractices, bribery, sex for grades, payment for grades and absenteeism, society will crumble,” he noted.  He therefore called on students to resist, reject and report corrupt practices and focus their attention to acquire knowledge. He advised lecturers to epitomize the virtues of honesty and hard work.   

Speaking at the meeting, ACC’s Public Education Officer, Yangie .D. Sesay, said fighting corruption must be a national concern because corruption has the potential to undermine quality and access to healthcare delivery. Miss Sesay urged the students to put into practice the anti-corruption values they have acquired as they relate to some of the provisions in the health code of ethics. She urged the students to collaborate with the Commission so that tertiary institutions will not be an incubator of corruption. Miss Sesay shared the various reporting lines, and assured them of informant protection.

ACC’s Public Education Officer Mohamed .A. Kabba said the engagement is in tandem with the Commission’s mandate to take all steps necessary to tackle corruption using diverse strategies. Mr. Kabba admonished students especially those in the final year to demonstrate high degree of patriotism by not participating in activities that would cause untold sufferings on the public. He reminded the continuing students of their primary responsibility to ensure that they attend lectures, study hard and abide by instructions from the administration.