Finance Minister Challenges TU to Become Southeast's Problem-Solving Center

WVSTU: Liberia's Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has challenged William V.S. Tubman University (TU) to strengthen research and innovation aimed at finding practical solutions to some of the major development challenges confronting southeastern Liberia.

Speaking during Tubman University's 17th anniversary celebration in Harper, Minister Ngafuan said the university must move beyond classroom instruction and ensure that its knowledge, research and innovation directly benefit communities across the region.

He challenged TU to position itself as a major problem-solving center for southeastern Liberia, with research focused on issues that directly affect the lives and livelihoods of citizens.
"Make Tubman University the Southeast's problem-solving laboratory. Let research address coastal erosion, climate-resilient roads, renewable energy, sustainable mining, public health, etc.," Minister Ngafuan said.

He stressed that Tubman University has an important role to play in helping Liberia develop practical and sustainable solutions to its development challenges.

According to him, knowledge should not remain confined to textbooks, classrooms or laboratories but must be translated into solutions that improve lives and strengthen communities.

"Knowledge must leave the textbook and enter the rice field. Innovation must leave the laboratory and reach the marketplace," he emphasized.

Minister Ngafuan also urged the university to connect its academic and research activities to Liberia's development priorities, including agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, sustainable mining and public health.

He said higher education becomes more meaningful when faculty and graduates apply their knowledge and skills to solving real-world problems in their communities and the country at large.

"To the faculty, help Liberia discover what it needs to know," he urged.
Minister Ngafuan said TU's strategic location in southeastern Liberia gives the institution a unique opportunity to study the challenges confronting the region and develop solutions that could benefit not only the Southeast but Liberia as a whole.

His challenge comes as Tubman University continues to expand its academic programs, infrastructure and research capacity under the leadership of President and CEO Dr. Olu Q. Menjay