It
is disheartening to know that the staff of the Gambia College, the biggest
source of human capital for the education sector, are the least paid when
compared to staff of other public tertiary institutions in the country.
Despite
the role of the college in training and producing specialist teachers for the
country, it has been operating in a near-neglected situation over the
years.
The
Gambia College used to be a vibrant trainer of teachers, public health workers,
and agriculturists and has been doing so for decades – as way back as
pre-independence.
Since
independence towards the 80s and 90s, the institution enjoyed commensurable
government subvention and support alongside the support of World Bank. However, it is today crying to be saved as it
struggles to meet it needs and to provide services.
We
understood that the former government at some point used to interfere in the
running of the institution by firing capable administrative staff and lecturers
due to political and other reasons.
With
the amalgamation of the college and other tertiary institutions with the
University of The Gambia, the college even had a more daunting task in sharing
its little resources with the ill-equipped university. The learning environment has become so
populated than usual and students fight over seats in classroom, and bed spaces
for residential dormitories also remain insufficient.
The
resultant low-caliber teachers, demotivated pool of lecturers and
administrative staff, under-resourced learning facilities are the product of
such miscalculated moves.
Hence
there is a need for a thorough review of the college’s situation with the
objective of making it a better learning institution just as we all used to
take pride in.
The
government must pay college staff decent salary, a salary that is commensurate
with the rapidly-increasing cost of living.
This will have positive effects on the quality of teachers it will
produce.
Let
us remember that the teachers produced from the college are the ones molding
our children in the schools. Hence investing in their welfare and motivation
them will have a direct bearing on the education provided to our children.
Let
us also remember that teachers deserve dignified lives and they must be treated
as an important, even indispensable, component of our society because without
them there is nobody.
“Within
the hearts men, loyalty and
consideration are esteemed greater than success.”
Bryant
H. McGill
