Aruna Turay, AYV News, July 8, 2026
The Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), Professor Ezekiel Kalvin Duramany-Lakkoh, has disclosed that the institution requires more than Le5 billion (old leones) every month to operate its Freetown headquarters, highlighting the enormous financial burden facing one of Sierra Leone’s leading higher education institutions.
Prof. Duramany-Lakkoh said the monthly operational cost covers examinations, staff salaries, administrative expenses, utilities, and other essential services needed to keep the institution running.
According to him, the university’s electricity bill alone is close to Le200 million (old leones) each month, while fuel consumption costs nearly Le20 million (old leones) per day, amounting to about Le100 million (old leones) every week.
“The cost of running the headquarters in Freetown for just one month, especially during examination periods, is approximately over Le5 billion old leones,” he revealed.
Beyond financial constraints, Prof. Duramany-Lakkohidentified academic administration as one of the institution’s biggest challenges, citing the growing imbalance between student enrolment and the number of lecturers.
He explained that the increasing student population has placed tremendous pressure on academic staff, making it difficult to process examination scripts and release results promptly.
“There are so many students, and that poses a challenge to releasing results on time. You have to mark all those scripts, and some have to be second-marked to maintain academic integrity. The workload on staff is enormous,”he said.
To address these challenges, he disclosed that IPAM is investing in digital transformation and is currently piloting an online examination system that will enable examination papers to be marked electronically as students complete their assessments.
The initiative, he said, is expected to improve efficiency, reduce delays in releasing results, and strengthen academic quality assurance.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor also described inadequate funding as one of the most pressing challenges confronting universities across Sierra Leone.
While acknowledging the steady growth in student enrolment, he noted that many students struggle to pay their tuition fees, significantly affecting the institution’s revenue.
“The cost of running higher education is extremely high, yet students are paying less than 300 United States dollars in tuition. The fees we charge are very low compared to the actual cost of delivering quality university education,” he explained.
He stressed that IPAM is therefore placing greater emphasis on revenue mobilisation to sustain its operations and finance future expansion.
“I want to assure the public that IPAM has the strategy and the vision. If we have the financial resources to implement them, we can achieve much more as a higher education institution,” he added.
Prof. Duramany-Lakkoh further identified inadequate infrastructure as another major obstacle to the institution’s growth, saying IPAM urgently needs additional campuses to accommodate its expanding student population and academic programmes.
According to him, expanding the institution’s physical infrastructure would create opportunities to introduce more innovative teaching methods and improve the overall learning experience.
He also revealed plans to reform aspects of the university’s curriculum by introducing more practical and competency-based assessments instead of relying heavily on traditional written examinations.
Using journalism as an example, he explained that students could, in the future, be assessed through supervised field assignments and practical reporting exercises.
“For example, if you are studying journalism, supervisors could accompany you into the field to observe how you conduct interviews and gather information, and assess you based on your practical performance rather than only written examinations,” he said.
Prof. Duramany-Lakkoh maintained that despite the financial and infrastructural challenges, IPAM remains committed to innovation, academic excellence, and producing graduates equipped with the practical skills required to meet the demands of the modern workforce.
