The Educational Research Network for West and Central African (ERNWACA) recently held a workshop for teachers and educationalists on the causes of mass failure of English Language and Mathematics in the WAEC Grade 12 terminal examinations and constraints encountered by TVET students in gaining organised apprenticeship.
Speaking at the forum held at the ERNWACA head office No: 3 Mile 7, Makaireh A. Njie, national coordinator, disclosed to the participants that ERNWACA is a research network comprising 15 countries of both Anglophone and Francophone.
He said ERNWACA had a network of over 300 researchers, noting that they have chapters in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and they meet once or twice a year to exchange research results.
According to him, ERNWACA regional office is based in Mali, Bamako, and at the regional level they also have what they call the Regional Scientific Committee (RSC).
He noted that any research proposal, finding or work would be subject to an evaluation by the RSC.
ERNWACA Gambian chapter’s research works were submitted to the ERNWACA regional office in Bamako to be looked at by a number of professors and they would have a feedback from them, he said.
Mr Njie said ERNWACA for the past years they have conducted several researches in West and Central Africa, adding that the purpose of the meetings was for the researchers to present their findings and gather the comments to fine tune their final papers.
Mr Njie, who doubles as coordinator of ERNWACA Gambia chapter, stated that for the year 2013 there were six research proposals sent to Bambako for reviewing and approval had only given to only two out of six.
He said the two approved proposal limited to the mass failures of English Language and Mathematics at WAEC Level in the Gambia from Nusrat High School.
He said constraints encountered by TVET students in gaining organised apprenticeship and internship experience in the Gambia from GTTI.
He disclosed that ERNWACA had secured another funding for research projects for up to 2016 from UEMDA, adding that this year Gambia national chapter had sent four proposals to Bambako and they are waiting for result at the end of June.
The event also witnessed the presentation of papers on the causes of mass failure in English Language and Mathematics at the WAEC Grade 12 terminal examination in The Gambia, as well as constraints encountered by TVET students in gaining organized apprenticeship/internship experience in The Gambia.
