By Lamin B. Darboe
Information Officer, MoBSE
Deputy Permanent Secretary (DPS), Administration and Finance at MoBSE urged the school authorities in the Upper Basic Schools within Region 2 and 4 to always adhere to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and WHO guidelines on Covid-19 pandemic.
Jerre Sanyang gave this advised to the school authorities during his two-day visit to the said schools last week. The purpose of the visit was for DPS Sanyang to see the turn-out of grade 9 students in class, their sitting arrangement and also to know whether schools have enough PPEs supply.
According to the Information Officer at MoBSE, grade 9 Students in the country resumed their normal classes on Wednesday in preparation for 2020/21 The Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examination (GABECE).
DPS urged the school authorities to always encourage their teachers and students to follow the health guidelines in this trying time of Covid-19 pandemic.
He stressed the need for the school authorities to constantly check the temperature of both teachers and students immediately they enter the school gate before going into their classes.
MoBSE No. 2 man explained to the school authorities and students that coronavirus is something real adding: reopening of grade 9 classes must go with health protocols. Thus GABECE will soon be conducted so you (the students) need to study hard in order to come-out with good result.
“You have few weeks to sit for your GABECE exam, so ask your colleagues at home to come and attend the classes. All of us are in dilemma because Covid-19 didn’t spare high profile persons in the world and while making thousands of people lost their lives,” he said.
He explained to the students not to see as an offense when their teachers ask them to come to school on Saturdays, because every school wants to register good results.
According to DPS Sanyang, this academic year is a difficult year for everybody and he also advised the school authorities to engage all teachers from grades 7-9 for the best interest of the school and the students in particular.
He revealed before the school authorities and students that his ministry in consultation with its stakeholders came-out with three options concerning the reopening of grade 9 classes.
These options he explained: grade 9 students to repeat, no new intake for grade 9 students in 2021/2022 school academic year or reopening of grade 9 classes.
“But we finally come to the concluded that grade 9 students to resume their classes and allow the students from ECD to Lower Basic school to move to their next classes, because failure to reopen grade 9 classes means we are denying those students at ECD and Lower Basic school level their right to education,” DPS stated.
This was the main reason he added, we decided to reopen grade 9 classes in order to pave the way for other lower classes to move to their new classes come next school academic year (September 2020).
The school authorities within the U.B.S visited all appealed to the ministry for more supply of Covid-19 PPEs in their schools especially face masks among others.
Similar visit were made by Minister Cole, PS Mendy, DPS Sanyang, DPS Jobe and other MoBSE officials to Regions 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.