Education for All Net (EFANet) the Gambia, in solidarity with the global community, recently commemorated Global Action Week (GAW) at a ceremony held at the Gambia Teacher’s Union campus on MDI Road.
Every year proponents of global campaign for education comes together to commemorate an action week to remind world leaders of the promise they made in 2000 in Dakar, Senegal, that led to the formulation of the Six Education For All goals.
The commemoration was held in two components: the first component was policy dialogue staged at the GTU secretariat and the second was the Bantaba held at the KMC grounds.
Speaking at the commemoration held at the GTU secretariat, MDI road in Kanifing, the coordinator of EFANet, Matarr Baldeh, told participants that the gathering was held to celebrate Global Action Week.
Mr Baldeh pointed out that each year they change the venue of the programme as well as the theme, adding that this year’s theme was about education and disability, which was component two on policy dialogue on disability and Bantaba.
There was need for change of attitude towards persons with disability, because disability does not mean inability, and children with disability have right to education like any other children, persons with disability should not be discriminated against in terms of education.
He disclosed that last year the National Assembly ratified a convention on the right of a person with disability, saying they want the parliament to go further to domesticating it, as no one was immune from disability.
Siyat Gaye, programme coordinator of EFANet, said they had informed the authorities about the rights of the persons with disability as regards education, that persons with disability have right to education.
Education is fundamental to the right of persons with disability, he said, appealing to parents with children with disability to give such children rights, chance and opportunity as equal as they are given to other children.
