By Binta Jaiteh
Honorable Abou Bah, the National Youth Parliament member for Serrekunda Constituency has highlighted the significance of educational policy to other parliamentarians at the National Assembly and urged them to look at the educational policy.
He noted that over the years, they have not reached the standard and quality of good education they anticipated as a nation.
Honourable Bah made this move during the debate between the members of the National Youth Parliament on the motion for the assessment of National Education Policies and curriculum held at the National Assembly in Banjul on Tuesday.
He said the recent event that occurred in the country has shown that the country’s educational policy cannot achieve the standard educational system for that reason it should be thoroughly looked into.
“When you said the educational policy is the set of principles that guides the education of this country, we should be able to have free education for our children and youths of this country,” he stated, adding that accessibility and curriculum content should be looked at and the pay scale of the teachers when looking at the assessment of the educational system.
Honourable Bah argued that if these issues are not looked at, the standard of education will not be achieved. That in section (30) of the constitution of the country, it has given the latitude for the children and youths to have free education from primary school to secondary school.
He outlined that “whether these things are implemented, our teachers, are they paid with good salaries for them to deliver or is it that salaries that are paid are discouraging the teachers or lack of qualified teachers,” he raised this with concern. Added that these are things that should be looked into to assess the educational policy.
He further stated that in the recent Senior Secondary Examination, fifteen thousand, six hundred and thirty sat the examination driven from one hundred and thirty-six schools, and almost only two thousand were able to pass from five credit to nine credit, which he said to be a sad scenario for the WASSCE.
Honourable Omar A. Manjang, a member of the NYP for Kombo South said that as a veteran teacher, it was important for them to re-visit themselves and see what is the reality and whether the country’s educational system is commensurate with what is available in the Gambia.
He outlined that it would be important for TVET education to be inculcated in their curriculum to ensure that those who could not get (A1) would at least practice the skills to enhance the economic development of the Gambia.