By Solomon T. Gaye
-Nimba
Reports emanating from sources at the United Methodist University (UMU) say the University risked imminent closure due to its inability to meet the demand of salary for its faculty and staff for a period of six months running.
The University has been in a financial squeeze for unexplained reasons for the past academic but this has been exacerbated by its indebtedness to the International Bank Liberia-Limited, an inside source close to financial information at the University disclosed.
The president of the United Methodist University (UMU), Yah Gono, attributed this to delays in paying scholarship students’ fund among other issues.
Speaking to this paper in Gompa City, Nimba County, the UMU president disclosed that payment of salary arrears for teaching staff at the Winifred College of Health Sciences in Gompa, the Agriculture College in Sinoe and Gbarnga School of Theology (GST) in Gbarnga, is worrisome.
According to Dr. Gono, the delays in paying students’ awarded scholarships by some politicians and institutions coupled with the economic hardship in the country, is among retarding factors for the smooth running of the university.
Dr. Gono made the statement during the Ministry of Education retreat held in Gompa.
“I want to take this time to appeal to the government to help the university with subsidy that will create a smooth learning environment for the students,” the UMU president appealed.
Since the beginning of 2024, demonstrations by nurses working at the Gompa Methodist Hospital, security personnel assigned at the Winifred College of Health Sciences in demand of salary seem to be the order of the day in Nimba.
During the beginning of March 2024, nurses working with the hospital laid down their tools and deserted the hospital for weeks in demand of salary arrears, good working condition, job benefit, among other amenities.
Meanwhile, at its main campus in Monrovia, the University’s adjunct faculty (contracted faculty) are yet to receive their last two months arrears since the last semester ended; similarly, staffers and faculty members who are permanent employees have not been paid for a period ranging between four to six months dating back to April.
As a result, tension has been brewing over the last few weeks for which the beginning of registration process at the University has been moving at a snail pace.
Over two weeks ago, the main entrances at the University were shut down with padlocks by some unidentified aggrieved workers and this action prevented students as well as faculty and administrators from entering the University premises for a short while.
Though the situation was quickly brought under control through the intervention of some members of the University’s Board, a social media communication hinted this paper that, there has been rough exchanges between aggrieved faculty members and the administration of the University in demand of the salary arrears.
The aggrieved workers, as per the communication, outlined several demands to the Board as precondition if the University is to operate this pending semester.
Amongst the demands from the employees includes, the removal of the entire management team of the University and the clearing of the six-month arrears before the commencement of the semester.
When quizzed by this paper about the level of intervention by the University’s Board, a member from the leadership of the aggrieved employees reported that not much is been seen by the Board, adding “If the Board which is chaired by the Bishop of the United Methodist Church had been effective in its oversight, trust me, we wouldn’t be where we are now with this problem.”
News gathered revealed that the Chairperson of the University’s Board, Samuel Jerome Quire, on Friday, September13, 2024, held a meeting with some aggrieved employees at the First United Methodist Church at the Corner of Ashmun and Gurley streets to seek mitigation.
According to open sources at the meeting, the Bishop promised the employees that they would receive three of their six months salaries owed them within a period of one week which ends Friday, September 20, 2024.
When our reporter visited the Ashmun Street campus of the University, students, faculty and some administrative staffers were seen seated reluctantly at the front porch referred to as ‘Facebook.’ “For us in the General Services Department, the University owes us for four months, while I think the part-timers have two months in arrears and the employees are now running up to six months,” some people were overheard saying in chorus.
They complained that the main cause underpinning the salary crisis is what they described as ‘salary discrepancies’ some favorites of the administration earn far more than their qualifications than others with similar or better qualifications.
Another reason they attributed to the financial crisis is the continuous employment without taking into account the University’s financial position.
When our reporter visited UMU campus yesterday, some people purporting to be students, informed that the beginning of instructions was still far away as registration was observed to be progressing very slowly.
That information was independently verified by our reporter who noticed that classes have not resumed for the semester contrary to the university’s academic calendar which announced that classes would have begun on Monday, September 16, 2024.
It remains unclear whether UMU campuses located in Gbarnga, Bong County and Gompa, Nimba County, are experiencing similar fate as that being experienced on the Ashmn Street Campus
Meanwhile unconfirmed report emanation from the Campus of the University says there is most likely no solution in sight as the financial comptroller of the University was heard saying “The Bishop did not consult me and made that declaration to pay three months on Friday.
There is no money to pay three months to employees and perhaps people may not take pay until October ending or November.”
In the words of some distressed employees who have been openly venting their anger, this latest statement from the “purse holder” (comptroller) of the University has added yet another layer of complexity to the already existing problems.
With contradictory voices now in the air, finding solutions to the existing financial crisis in the University requires practical actions.
With the employees’ compounded demand for the members of the management team to be relieved of their positions, it can be assumed that the problem at the faith based University is far from being over.
Our research shows that since the establishment of the United Methodist University in 1998 and subsequently opened its doors to the public in January 2000, this is the first in peace time that the UMU has found itself bathing in such depth of “financial crisis.”
The last time they went through financial crisis for five months, IB Bank Liberia Limited rescued the situation and it is yet to be seen whether the bank, when approached will let down the same “life-saving jacket” again to the University.
Dr. Gono revealed that the university has an enrollment of around 5000 students and about 300 teaching faculties working on part time basis.
The United Methodist University is among faith base universities that is decentralized in rural Liberia offering degrees in various disciplines in Montserrado, Nimba, Bong and Sinoe Counties.
Dr. Gono served as former president at the Nimba County Community College (NCCC) turned university for over 10 years before taking up this new assignment at the United Methodist University where she replaced the late Johnson Gwaikolo as president in 2001.
Previous presidents of the institution include Emmanuel F. Bailey, J. Oliver Duncan, Albert Coleman and the late Johnson Gwaikolo.
