Investing in education

Investing in education would, no doubt, add power to our competitiveness as a nation, and boost the socio-economic development of the nation.

Education is a powerful tool that no serious government could ignore as a matter of fact.

The reality is that investing in education can have very big rewards for any country, rich or poor, particularly tiny Gambia.

Stakeholders, especially government and development partners, should invest more in both human assets and financial resources into this great sector.

More well-trained teachers and lecturers are needed in our schools, and also more financial resources should be given to the sector.

We need to revamp and revitalize the physical infrastructure of our public schools, administrative buildings, and more teachers quarters needed to be built across the country.

Parents and family members must also take the lead.

There must be a real commitment on encouraging students to enjoy learning and reading at school and home.

Students must be encouraged to meet their full academic and life potentials.

We, therefore, appreciate the giant strives being taken by Bank PHB who as part of its corporate social responsibility, yesterday Monday 13th February 2012, made the second disbursement of their  annual scholarship package for basic and secondary school students to the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, MOBSE amounting to D200, 000 as well as 8,500 exercise books for lower and upper basic school children.

A similar donation was also made to the education sector recently by Standard Chartered Bank in the form of textbooks.

This kind of investment and partnership between the government and the private sector is what we are advocating for, especially by investing in education.

We encourage other partners to emulate the two banks and other philanthropists to support the education sector.

By investing in education, the future of The Gambia is always sure to be bright, and her citizens would enjoy and be proud of their nation.