The
community of Sami Karantaba village in the Central River Region has commended
President Yahya Jammeh for ensuring that a senior secondary school was provided
in the village.
Speaking in an interview with this reporter regarding the senior secondary school in the area, the principal of Karantaba Upper and Senior Secondary School, Ebrima Sallah, expressed gratitude that the Gambia leader has brought development to the doorsteps of the community of Sami Karantaba.
During the transition period, there was only a lower basic school there, but now Sami Karantaba village has both an upper and senior secondary school, he added.
Mr Sallah said the senior school started operations in September 2013-2014 with 112 students, nine qualified teachers and three unqualified.
Introducing the senior school in Sami Karantaba has made a great improvement in the area, where many dropout students stopped at Grade 9 as their parents could not afford to pay for them to attend other senior schools elsewhere.
The school has a computer lab with six computers; participated in the regional sports competition held in Bansang for the first time, and two students qualified for the national competitions held in Farafenni.
The school also participated in the drama competition held at Janjanbureh at the regional education office, did well and were awarded certificates.
The constraints of his school include a lack of electricity, pipe-borne water supply, lack of proper fencing for the school, and of parents not following up on their children’s education.
He also lamented the lack of enough teachers, especially for the commerce and technical department.
He appealed to the authorities to help build a senior school campus, as it is currently housed in the Upper Basic school premises, as well as help with social amenities.
Principal Sallah praised his staff for being hard-working, and for being always ready to share their knowledge with their students.
The Alkalo of Karantaba Torro, Mamadou Ganno, also thanked President Jammeh and the people for all their efforts make sure a senior school was brought to the area.
According to Ganno, it has reduce the burden on parents taking their children to other schools, considering the distance and high costs involved.
