By Fatoumatta Gassama
The Gambia Senior Secondary School (GSSS) on Thursday the 13th June celebrated its sixty years of establishment and excellence performance.
The celebration was attended by great and noble people from the society, former students of the school and other dignitaries.
Going down the memory lane in brief, GSSS which was established in 1959 is one of the greatest and best schools of learning in The Gambia but has its origin dated back in 1876 when it was first founded by the Wesleyan Missionaries on Dobson Street in the capital city of Banjul.
Twenty-five years earlier, Mother Anne Marie Javouley, first Sister of St Joseph of Cluny visited Bathurst and planned to open a mission which came into being in 1849. Also in 1898 the school was re-opened as Methodist Boys High School and in 1915 the Girls High School was opened but currently called Albion Lower Basic School.
However, both the boys and girls high schools merged and moved to the entry point of the capital city – Banjul and Box Bar Road respectively. The school attained the name Gambia Senior Secondary School in 1994 when the government of the Gambia changed the educational policy.
The school Principal, Lamin M.B Jaiteh highlighted various achievements made by the school and as well as its challenges. Among its achievements are the academic standard and discipline of the students of the school as the saying goes “Discipline is the key corner for every child,” he said.
Jaiteh also talked extensively about poor performances of students in general while challenging parents to help their children at home “as the school is doing its own part to bring out the talents and potentials of the country’s future leaders. So it’s important for parents to play their own roles too.”
He went on to explain further that students’ academic poor performances in schools nowadays can be attributed to the use of social media as most students now pay much attention on whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and among others than their academic works.
He then commended the school administration for job well done on their ability in monitoring the teachers in the school and as well as giving them the opportunities to upgrade themselves through organizing of workshops and other trainings.
He outlined some of the old graduates from the school which includes the Gambia First Prime Minister and President of The Gambia Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, the Ex- President Yahya Jammeh, Fatim Badjie, and Bai Modi Joof among others.
