Fendell – The administration of the state-run University of Liberia has announced a Liberian software firm, MWETANA, to run its digital registration program.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
The program was announced by President George Manneh Weah in February as part of his administration’s first ‘pro-poor’ 150-day deliverables.
At a program marking the official announcement of the digitalization/automation of the UL registration system on Thursday, March 5, the President of the University of Liberia, Dr. Ophelia I. Weeks described the process as a small step for a giant outcome.
“It is with positive vibration for the future here at the UL, because once we make this step, there are so many other steps that we will be able to make with this digitization process; not only registration, but finance, human resources and others. This is one of our small steps for a giant outcome as we enter the 21st century. Thanks to everybody who have contributed to making this possible,” she intoned.
She thanked President Weah for including the project in his 150-day deliverables and expressed delight in selecting MWETANA as partners in making the digitalization/automation drive of the nation’s premiere institution of learning a reality.
She acknowledged that there would be obstacles in its initial stage, but the project’s goal of bringing relief to the entire UL family including the student populace and the administration will be achieved gradually.
“This is not something that out of a sudden will be fantastic, there will be obstacles, there will be pitfalls and there will be times that we will say wow it took a short period of time to get us this far. But the goal all along is to make everything better for all. It is with great pleasure that I announce the software company that will be assisting us in making our registration process more delightful is MWETANA.”
Also speaking, the President and Chief Executive Officer of MWENTANA, Vivien Jones expressed delight over his company’s selection and pledged his commitment to the success of the program.
“Our focus is to do our work and let our customers be our ambassadors. And hopefully at the end of the day, we will have the entire UL family being our ambassadors in terms of how we came in and we made things different. The process will involve the students doing their registration and the faculty putting in their grades.”
He continued: “You can register from anywhere. You will go online and plan your courses and after that sit right there and generate your control sheet or bill. Then eventually you will be able to pay online. But like I said this is a journey, and everything isn’t going to happen overnight. As time go by, you will be able to pay with mobile money or your credit card if you have,” Jones enthused.
MWETANA is a word borrowed from a local Liberian vernacular, Via, meaning “Moving Forward”.
The program was attended by cross section of people including the UL administration and faculty, students and the MWETANA’S management.