By Abdou Mbye
The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) has convened a two-day regional consultative meeting to assess the progress and to map the way forward on education. The mid-term policy review covering the years 2016-2030 brought together government officials, education actors and stakeholders to reflect on the successes and challenges encountered during the first half of the policy period.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, at the Regional Education Directorate in Kerewan, Region 3, the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), Honorable Claudiana A. Cole posited that ‘education is everybody’s business’, imploring participants to critically scrutinise the policy document and make substantial contributions as representatives of the larger community, in their pursuit to develop a robust educational policy that suits the needs and aspirations of the people.
“Education is the profession that creates every other profession. We are here to review the policy to see how far we have gone over the past seven years in the implementation process, what needs to be done, and what are the challenges and the way forward. We need to reflect that there are so many emerging issues and one of them was COVID. When COVID struck and schools were closed indefinitely, we said that education cannot wait and we used the radio and television to teach the children at home,” she remarked.
The Minister noted that The Gambia was one of the first countries in the sub-region to use distance learning to reach the children at home.
She went on: “Let us think of children who did not finish grade twelve, or cannot go to college and university. They need TVET education and skills which the ministry is providing so far”.
Mr. Adama Jimba Jobe, Deputy Permanent Secretary (DPS) Programmes, stated: “We want to consult everybody and that is why we have diverse representation. Be free to give your opinion because the education we want for the country belongs to all of us.”
The Education Director in region 3, Madam Fatou Jallow, welcomed all stakeholders to the region and expressed optimism that participants would do justice to the document by giving their honest and sincere opinions.
The Regional Governor for North Bank Region (NBR), Mr Lamin Saidy expressed honour for hosting the minister to the region for such an important event.
In a related development, the governor used the opportunity to present to the Honorable Minister thirty desktop computers donated by a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), of which he is a member, as their contribution to the education sector. The computers will be distributed to different schools within the region.