The annual report of the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) submitted to the Public Agencies/Enterprises Committees of the National Assembly has highlighted, among others, serious under-funding, which it said continues to be a major threat to and weakness of the council.
The report, submitted before deputies by Dawda Jallow, programme officer at the NCCE, on Monday, stated that this has resulted in the council’s inability to maximize its output to the mass of the people with civic education messages.
Established by an Act of Parliament, the NCCE is charged with the responsibility to create and sustain awareness of constitutional democracy for the achievement of political, economic and social stability through civic education.
“This has also created difficulty in formulating, implementing and overseeing programmes intended to inculcate in the citizens of The Gambia, awareness of their civic responsibilities and appreciation of their rights and obligations as a free people,” the report highlighted.
According to the report, other constraints facing the NCCE are the lack of access to national airwaves, and suitable office space to enable the council pursue its mandate adequately. The council, the report added, would also like to decentralize and be present in all the regions of The Gambia.
The NCCE report stated that working closely with its board, comprising of five members, the institution hopes to surmount its current obstacles and rise above them soon with the help of all concerned.
“In the process of fulfilling its constitutional mandate of educating for democratic citizenship, the NCCE uses a variety of media and delivery,” the report revealed.
The NCCE report recommended a review of the council’s subvention and to sustainably increase its operational funds commensurate with the realities. This, it added, will boost council’s negotiating powers to raise respectable complementary counterpart funding from potential donor agencies.
“An adequate and conducive office space that can fully accommodate the council and its staff should be provided for it to carry out its task. Council would also like to decentralize to make its presence felt on a permanent basis all over the country,” the NCCE report concluded.
