Banjul, September 18, 2008 – Stakeholders in The Gambia’s education sector met August 21 in Banjul to witness the signature of the re-endorsement of the Education Sector Medium Term Plan (2008-2011).
This medium-term plan is drawn from the current education policy (covering the period 2004-2015), which came at the end of an inclusive and participatory consultative process, and which articulates the priorities, challenges, lessons, strategies and expected outputs for the entire sector.
A mother and child attend class at Gambia College.
The plan is expected to serve as a roadmap for the attainment of policy targets set within the period 2008 – 2011, including universal access to lower basic education of good quality (Grades 1-6); continued improvements in education quality at all levels, and increased access and equitable resource allocation to upper basic education, early childhood development and literacy programs. Specific emphasis would be given to inter-regional inequality, the gender gaps and issues faced by disadvantaged groups.
World Bank Vice President for Human Development Joy Phumaphi attended the event as did several Gambian ministers, including Mrs. Fatou Lamine Faye (Basic and Secondary Education), Mr. Crispin Grey-Johnson (Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology) and Mr. Malick Njie (Health and Social Welfare).
Mr. Mod Secka, permanent secretary representing the secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, paid tribute to the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education, which he described as the best performer amongst the social sectors in the government for several years.
During the event, government officials outlined the many challenges that remain in the Education sector: the need to accelerate enrollments in Lower Basic Education, the importance of focusing on quality at all levels, and the need to ensure that girls attain parity not only in enrollments but also in their learning outcomes.
“We are encouraged by the many positive signs that the education sector continues to show progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals for education and for gender parity,” said Meskerem Mulatu, Task Team Leader of the World Bank’s ongoing Third Education Phase 2 Project. She expressed the Bank’s appreciation for the objectivity and transparency in the government’s plan.
Mulatu hailed the Gambia College, an institution charged with training teachers for the Primary Teaching Certificate and the Higher Teaching Certificate qualifications.
“[We pay] special homage to the teachers who have taken on the challenge of guiding the learning process for the children of The Gambia,” she said. “[We applaud] the several mothers of young children whom we saw at Gambia College, participating in the teacher training programs with their children.”
To encourage the participation of women, Gambia College’s program allows mothers, particularly nursing mothers, to bring their children into classrooms.
Agreeing with Mulatu, Phumaphi emphasized the importance of human capital for development. She said education starts even before a mother becomes pregnant.
“The period during the pregnancy and first two years of life is so critical that when this development is compromised, the earning potential of the individual in his later life is going to be compromised on average by up to 17 percent, but in some cases up to 40 percent,” she said.
During the event, the government announced an increase in the budget for education for 2009.
“This is not only an indication of support, but is an indication of full ownership,” said Phumaphi. “It is an indication of the confidence that this Government has – and that the people of The Gambia have – in the ability of human capital to drive that development.”
While in The Gambia, Phumaphi urged development partners, engaged or not yet engaged in the country, to consider investing in its education sector.
RSS