【西非漫谈】冈比亚的教育系统

（【西非漫谈】2023年第2期，总第69期。作者：电子科技大学西非研究中心团队；执笔人：EMMANUEL BRUCE（电子科技大学西非研究中心团队成员）；译者：洪菱（外国语学院）；校对：曾佳锐（外国语学院）；整理：孟雅琪（公共管理学院）、黄锐（公共管理学院）；供稿：电子科技大学西非研究中心团队。）

THE GAMBIA’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

1.0 Brief Background of The Gambia

The Republic of Gambia, also known as "The Gambia," is a West African nation borders the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and is encircled by Senegal. It was conquered by the British. According to the country's 2015 population census, The Gambia, which has a geographical area of 11,295 km2 and a population of 1.9 people, is the smallest west African nation on the continent of Africa. However, with almost two-thirds of the population under 30, the nation has a young population. Although it is lower than the global average, life expectancy is comparable to the regional average. There are several different ethnic groups in the Gambia, with the Mandinka making up around one-third of the population, followed by the Fula, Wolof, and Jola. The official language of the Gambians is English, but various indigenous languages such Malinke, Pulaar (Fulbe), Serer, Diola, Soninke, and Creole are also widely used. Muslims who are highly literate in Arabic make up more than 95% of the population in the Islamic Republic of the Gambia. The climate condition of The Gambia is a wet-and-dry tropical characterized by an intense rainy season occurring generally between June and October and by a longer dry season.

2.0 Overview of the Gambia’s educational system

Education is a fundamental human right, a catalyst for growth, and one of the most effective means of eradicating poverty and advancing gender equality, health, peace, and stability. It is the most crucial element to ensuring equity and inclusion and produces significant, consistent returns in terms of income. More kids are currently in school globally because to significant progress achieved in developing nations in enrolling kids in school. In order to build the human capital necessary to eradicate extreme poverty, it is essential to make wise and efficient investments in people's education. The need to address the learning crisis, end learning poverty, and assist kids in acquiring the advanced cognitive, socio-emotional, technical, and digital skills they require to flourish in the modern world forms the basis of this strategy (Tomita & Savrimootoo, 2016). The sustainable development goal 4 is an educational goal that aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Hence, governments are urged to implement ambitious and aggressive Learning Recovery Programs to get children back to school, recover lost learning, and accelerate progress by building better, more equitable and resilient education systems.

The Gambia promotes free and compulsory basic education by virtue of the Constitution. This is true amid the country's poor national economy. The national government recognizes the importance of educated and competent human resources. In fact, educational reforms have been introduced to improve educational programs and policies. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has formulated plans and strategies to ensure, maintain and improvement of learning outcomes with regards to early childhood development, teacher training, instructional design, curriculum review, knowledge content and development, educational accessibility and computing (Jones & Chant, S. 2009). In 2002, the nation assumed a new educational system that restructured the old framework. The new set of school levels introduced is characterized by six-year lower education and three-year upper education in primary schools; three-year senior education in secondary schools; and four-year higher education in university schools. Qualifying examinations are conducted at the end of specified school levels such as ninth and twelfth grades to screen eligible students. In turn, only those who pass the test can avail enrolment into the next level.

Source: https://www.unicef.org/gambia/education

The Gambia has a state education structure with English as the language of instruction, with basic Gambia education lasting nine years. Thus, the first six years are referred to as Lower Basic and the following three years as Upper Basic. Upon completion of nine years’ basic education, students sit a national exam (9th grade exam) which decides admission to high school, which lasts an additional three years. The first nine years of the basic education cycle are mainly funded by the government, while secondary education, which lasts three years, is mainly provided by the private sector with government-sponsored and school board-run schools. In 2007, 574 primary and secondary schools were built. Therefore, the education sector in The Gambia has experienced rapid growth in recent years as the total number of students enrolled in the formal education system doubled between 1998 and 2010. Basic infrastructure (classrooms, desks, chairs, water) is generally adequate in both urban and rural areas. However, due to increased enrollment, many schools have adopted a double-shift system, with one group of students going in the mornings and the other group going in the afternoons.

Source: https://abocww-directory.com/

In 1999, the University of The Gambia was built, which was certified to award undergraduate degrees in Arts and Sciences, Business and Commerce, and Medicine and Health courses. Also, the establishment of The Gambia College was required to authorize the award of non-degree certificates in courses in agriculture, education, health, science and professional specialization, and The Gambia Technical Training Institute offers exclusive technical and professional training. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoBSE) is responsible for the education system up to the 12th grade. The country is organized into six administrative regions, and each of the regions has a regional education office with a regional director. The regional directors are the main liaison between the schools in their region and the ministry. They ensure that activities are monitored at school level and regularly collect key indicators(Hegazi, et al 2010).

Source: https://www.unicef.org/gambia/education

3.0 Educational Reforms in The Gambia

The Gambian Government have recognized the significance of education in national development. Education has been prioritized and effective strategies and plans have been put in place to improve the system for many years (Bouy, 1996). In the Gambian Vision 2020 policy, the Government of the Gambia prioritized education, other social services and healthcare to enhanced human capital. Although, a study by Alvesson & Viñuela, (2014) reported that cost of access and distance to school accounts for the school drop out in the Gambia, the government systematic policies seem to be a perfect solution to the problems raised. Firstly, the government implemented free educational policy between 2013 and 2015. Thus, abolition of fees from the basic through the secondary school level in order to foster free basic education throughout the country.

In addition, Early Childhood Development (ECD) strategic plan was established by the Gambian government, aiming at 2016 – 2030 with the theme, “Accessible, Equitable and Inclusive Quality Education for Sustainable Development”, supported by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 (SDG4). This policy includes essential benefits including equitable educational accessibility, effective funding and efficiency improvement of education in the Gambia.

More importantly, Education Management Information System (EMIS) introduced by the government has transitioned Gambian traditional paper-based educational system to digital system using the DHIS2 platform to achieve accurate data and achieve equitable, inclusive, and quality education. In agreeing on the digital EMIS based on the DHIS2 platform, the Gambian government collaborated with other departments, agencies, NGOs and development partners such as UNESCO and implementation for the successful implementation and application supports. Moreover, leveraging on DHIS2 platform helps in effective monitoring, evaluation, management support and knowledge sharing in the Gambian educational system (Sarr, 2020).

Source: https://dhis2.org/gambia-emis-tracker/

Currently, the National Training Authority (NTA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology are now embarking on a number of innovative projects to address the issues of TVET and to secure its significance to labor market needs (Saine & Saine, 2012).

4.0 The Gambia Educational Challenges

The Gambia Education Policy aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4, centered on accessible, equitable, and inclusive quality education for all. The basic educational system in the Gambia is a right, and should be free, compulsory, and available to all. Regardless, the educational system in the Gambia faces challenges (Baldeh & Manion, 2015).

First, limited infrastructure (classrooms, learning and staff) hinders the government to accommodate the growing students. Furthermore, low performance, specially the learning outcomes is a challenge, which needs collaboration and strategic partnership to create an enabling environment for the kids to go to school. In addition to that, family choice of education and social norms such as early marriage affect the enrolment of kids in school (Manion, 2012).

There is also a lack of quality education that hinder equitable quality service-delivery. Pre-school education and basic educational system are not adequately developed in terms of infrastructure facilities, programmes and capacity which affect the solid foundation of education in the Gambia.

Again, social norms and structural limitations limit the access to education. For example, social norms and values in the Gambia hinders boys and girls’ educations especially in the secondary education since families placed value on marriage over education and career growth (Jadama, et al. 2017; Olagbaju, 2020).

5.0 Post Covid-19 Educational Initiatives and Actions

The COVID-19 outbreak have had detrimental effect on both human life and the economies worldwide (Xiang et al., 2020). It has been reported that the pandemic has exposed the educational systems vulnerabilities and shortcomings in the Gambia. Consequently, students faced challenges in adapting to the distance learning, particularly online due to the outbreak (Iwona, 2007). According to the United Nations Education, Economic and Social Council (UNESCO, 2020) report "schools and higher education institutions were closed in 185 countries, affecting 1, 542 412000 learners, which constitute 89% of total enrolled learners" on 1 April 2020.

In the context of the Gambia, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MOHERST) (2021) ordered schools both the primary and the higher learning institutions to be closed due to the pandemic. Strict measures were implemented to control the spread of the virus and resorted to online learning (education). In order to curb the virus in the Gambia, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and other education partners including UNICEF provided large-scale and inclusive distance learning for students across The Gambia. Distance learning requires strong internet connections, and with the help of UNICEF and the Gambian Government, internet connectivity and accessibility were spread to the rural communities to ensure protective services, schooling at home and overall helping students to abreast with IT knowledge.

The Local Education Group collaborated and supports the development of the Education Sector COVID-19 Response Strategy. The Education Sector COVID-19 Response Strategy aimed at supporting children with meals and other schools learning materials. Moreover, the Gambia Education System extended the frontiers of channels of delivering the school curriculum to all children to watch and listen in the respective households during the COVID-19. Further, the MoBSE established a cross-sectoral technical and young entrepreneur working group that helped in developing technical documents in supports of effective online education system during the outbreak.

References

Alvesson, H. M., & Viñuela, L. (2014). The Gambia Case Study: Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. Institutions Taking Root: Building State Capacity in Challenging Contexts, 71.

Baldeh, M., & Manion, C. C. (2015). Education for All and the global-local interface: A case study of The Gambia. In Globalization, International Education Policy and Local Policy Formation (pp. 59-80). Springer, Dordrecht.

Bouy, B. (1996). Quality management for education in the Gambia: the role of planning.

Gambia - Educational System—overview - School, Children, Students, and Secondary - StateUniversity.com Retrieved online https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/498/Gambia-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW

Global Education Reference Gambia - History Background, Educational System—overview, Higher Education - PREPRIMARY PRIMARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY EDUCATION

Hegazi, A., Bailey, R. L., Ahadzie, B., Alabi, A., & Peterson, K. (2010). Literacy, education and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in The Gambia. Aids Care, 22(11), 1340-1345.

Iwona, M. (2007). 499-514- It is fully 'on' or partly 'off'? The case of fully online provision of transnational education. Journal of Information Technology Education, 6: 499-514.

Jadama, L. M., Touray, I. A., & Fatajo, L. (2017). Gender Issues In Education In The Gambia. In INTED2017 Proceedings (pp. 10125-10133). IATED.

Jones, G. A., & Chant, S. (2009). Globalising initiatives for gender equality and poverty reduction: Exploring ‘failure’with reference to education and work among urban youth in The Gambia and Ghana. Geoforum, 40(2), 184-196.

Manion, C. (2012). Power, knowledge and politics: Exploring the contested terrain of girl-focused interventions at the national launch of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative in The Gambia. Theory and Research in Education, 10(3), 229-252.

Olagbaju, O. O. (2020). Adult literacy and skill acquisition programmes as correlates of women empowerment and self-reliance in the Gambia. Education Research International, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7264171

Saine, A., & Saine, P. (2012). Critical Holistic Educational Model: Re-constructing a (Post-Jammeh) Democratic Society in Gambia. International Journal of Learning, 18(10).

Sarr, O. (2020). Comparative Language and Education for Development Policies Between the Gambia and Ghana: Advocacy for Change. Journal of Comparative Studies and International Education (JCSIE), 2(1), 67-78.

Tomita, R., & Savrimootoo, T. (2016). Improving education performance in math and science in The Gambia. Washington, DC: World Bank.

USAID, The World Bank, & Eddata. The Gambia Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA): Results from the 1,200 Gambian Primary Students Learning to Read in English—Report for the World Bank. January 2008.

UNICEF (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): our response. Retrieved at https://www.unicef.org/gambia/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-our-response

World Bank (2004). Making Services Work for Poor People. World Development Report, 2004.

Xiang, Y. T., Li, W., Zhang, Q., Jin, Y., Rao, W. W., Zeng, L. N., ... & Hall, B. J. (2020). Timely research papers about COVID-19 in China. The Lancet, 395(10225), 684-685.