By Yunus S Saliu
The Maiden edition of the Comprehensive Health Education Interschool Drama/Poetry Competition for Upper and Senior Secondary Schools in Region 1 Friday, 20th May 2022 kicked-off in Banjul.
The Comprehensive Health Education Interschool Drama/Poetry Competition organised by the Comprehensive Health Education Team of the Curriculum Research, Evaluation and Development Directorate (CREDD) under the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE).
Comprehensive Health Education Interschool Drama/Poetry Competition for Upper and Senior Secondary Schools is part of the implementation research activities on Strengthening Access to Quality Comprehensive Health Education for in and out of school adolescents in The Gambia. And the competition will help to update students’ knowledge and further expose them to information about CHE through drama and poetry performance. The CHE Drama and Poetry competition will create and reinforce awareness among students on early marriage, unplanned pregnancy prevention, menstruation; FGM; STIs; HIV/AIDS and GBV among other sexuality health issues.
In addition to that, the competition will provide opportunity for the research investigators and the Curriculum Directorate to evaluate the understanding of students on CHE-Information base on their drama and poetry performance.
However, 24 schools comprises of Upper and Senior Secondary Schools are participating in the ongoing CHE Competition as the first elimination round took place at St Joseph’s Upper Basic Cycle and Senior Secondary School, Banjul.
Six schools participated in the first elimination round one for Banjul and this included St Joseph’s; St Augustine’s; Garba Jahumpa (Upper Basic Schools) and the Senior Secondary Schools included St Augustine’s; St Joseph’s, Gambia High and Garba Jahumpa.
In the upper basic schools category St Augustine’s Upper Basic School emerged 1st position while Garba Jahumpa Upper Basic School took 2nd position and in the Senior Secondary School category – 1st position was grabbed by St Joseph’s SSS; 2nd Gambia SSS (Gambia High) and the 3rd position went to St Augustine’s SSS.
In the UBS category, Ousman Kanteh won the Best Actor of CHE Competition in Banjul while in SSS category Jacques S Ceesay was the Best Actor of CHE Competition in Banjul.
Meanwhile, the elimination round one of the CHE Interschool Drama/Poetry Competition for Kanifing Municipal Council schools is slated for 27th May 2022 at YMCA Hall, MDI Road.
However, the overall aim of the five year research project on Strengthening Access to Quality Comprehensive Health Education among in and out of school adolescents in Region is to design and implement relevant school and community based programs that will provide quality Comprehensive Health Education to in and out of school adolescents.
Strengthening Access to Quality Comprehensive Health Education in The Gambia is an implementation research project done by Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education with funding from International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada.
