By Landing Colley
Honorable Claudiana Ayo Cole, Minister for Basic and Secondary Education has told lawmakers that her Ministry did not receive a single butut from the government towards distance learning program.
“We have not received a single butut towards the initiative from the government, all we have spent on the distance learning program has been from partners, and donors.
“I am very worried because the distancing learning initiative program has been somehow suspended because of lack of resources, it has three phases which has cause us a lot of money, “she said.
But Banjul south lawmaker, Fatoumatta Njai enquired: “Are you telling us our children are not important after all that money was spent in this covid-19 and nothing has been spent in education?”
And Claudina Cole replied: “I can say that we are confident (to say that) we have not received anything toward the distance learning initiative from the government. We haven’t, we haven’t.”
She said they have not given up on the government, but all the money that they have received are from education sector projects which are Global Partnership Education (GPE), UNICEF, and WFP as they reported it to education sub- committee.
Abdoulie Ceesay NAM for Old Yundum asked the Hon Minster whether the fund received from the partners to implement the distance learning are given to the Ministry because of the government or for the Ministry alone?
The Minster in her response pointed out that is is development partners that gave their support and they do not support because of her but they supported the Ministry which is part of the government.
Meanwhile, she clarified the rumors that the Ministry got 35 million from the Covid-19 fund. “I and my permanent Secretary had clarified it that we did not receive a butut from the covid-19 fund. We got money from development partners and those development partners are here to support the government, but direct from covid-19 fund we have not receive anything,” she said.
They submitted a request from the government for the support to the online classes but they did not receive anything for support to the online classes, he added.
