Sankung Papa Susso, EdD. Professor of Education Touro College and University System Email: sankung.susso@touro.edu
Between
2008 and 2014, school enrollment in The Gambia was as follows: Pre-school
enrollment 32%, primary school enrollment 87%, and secondary enrollment 57%.
Information was not available for tertiary education. Pupil per teacher ratio
was 36:1 and primary school drop-out rate was 27%. Education spending between
2005 and 2014 was 4.1% of the national budget.
While the above numbers are outdated
and may not reflect the full scope of other mitigating factors, they offered an
important point of reference. One such example is a thematic development which
underscored the values attached to each stage in a child’s educational
attainment in The Gambia. Specifically, I find it interesting that primary
education is the most important point in a child’s educational journey based on
the above information. Therefore, a conclusion may be reached that primary
education is more important to Gambians than pre-school and secondary
education. Through qualitative inquiry, one may want to understand why a
majority of children in The Gambia begin and end their educational journeys at
the primary level. Additional questions may include: How is a child prepared
for primary schooling in The Gambia? Why are more children dropping-out of
school after the primary level rather than attempting secondary education? Who
were the 27% of children who dropped out of primary school? What happened to
that 27% after they dropped-out?
Answering the above questions may
yield additional information that could inform national policy. It is important
to note that The Gambia is not alone in its troubles with improving educational
outcomes for schoolchildren. Rather, countries across the globe continue to
look for innovative ways through which they can improve educational outcomes in
reading, math, and science among other subjects that prepare children for
twenty-first century skills. In a study that I published in 2016 entitled,
Exploring Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies for the Education of Students
with Interrupted Formal Education: A Phenomenological Study, I wrote the
following statement:
In
2003, the U.S. came in fourth among low performing students and fourth among
high performing students in reading proficiency. In 2009, the U.S. ranked fifth
among low performing students and third among high performing students. In
2012, the U.S. was ranked fifth among low performing students and sixth among
high performing students. Overall, the U.S. reduced its percentage of low
performing students in reading from the year 2000 through 2012 by 1.3 percent.
However, the nation also had a 4.3 percent drop in its percentage of high
performing students within that same time period. Consequently, there was a net
loss of three percent in performance output on PISA from the U.S. over a
twelve-year period.
The Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA) that is mentioned above is an international benchmark
assessment protocol that is administered every three years. Several countries,
including the Group of Eight (G-8) nations, as well as members and observer
countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), take part in the PISA assessment. Both G-8 and OECD countries use their
PISA assessment outcomes to propose national education policies in order to
improve their student scores. For others, PISA offers another avenue of
propaganda concerning nationalism and exceptionalism. However, what is more
important is the use of such assessment outcomes to identify how each country’s
schoolchildren fare when compared to children from other countries. With the
above information, countries can develop frameworks to strengthen national
standards in support of a rigorous curriculum. With rigor and attainable
benchmarks, children will be prepared to compete in an ever increasing global
economy, rather than dropping out of school.
HOW
CAN THE UPCOMING PARLIAMENT MEET THE GAMBIA’S EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES?
a. Funding:
One
of the factors responsible for a country’s performance in any assessment is
funding. Countries that consider education as a priority, allocate adequate
funds to support teaching and learning. As earlier revealed, The Gambia spent
approximately 4.1% of its national budget on education. That means for every
one hundred dalasi that the government spent, only four dalasi and one butut
goes towards education. Compare such a number to, say, New York City. With a
student population of 1.2 million, the New York City Department of Education
operates on an annual budget of approximately $24 billion.
With
so much money available to support students with disabilities, students who
learn English as a New Language, students with interrupted formal education,
talented and gifted students, and indigent students, the city continues to see
gains in reading and math consistently. Similarly, Singapore used to be among
the world’s lowest performing countries on the PISA assessment. However, it is
now among the top performing countries because of targeted investments in
education using data-driven policy proposals.
I
wanted to bring the above point to the attention of the candidates running for
parliament. The Gambia has long suffered from a lack of a strong knowledge
base. Because of illiteracy in The Gambia, most schools are staffed with
teachers from neighboring countries. Similarly, the judiciary is filled with
judges from other countries because most Gambian’s lack the education and
experience required to fulfill the mandates of jurisprudence. The incoming
parliament should task itself with a broad review of the national agenda.
The
executive branch has already set its agenda for growth, development, and
reconciliation. The legislature has a similar task, even though it may not
necessarily mirror the executive foresight. Such is the nature of democracy.
With checks and balances, governments can work efficiently under legal
parameters to improve the quality of their citizens’ lives. One function that
the legislature should not be mired into, is a temptation to forego its
responsibility and instead begin to function as the judiciary. Legislatures
propose laws, executives enact such laws, and the judiciary interprets the laws
as appropriate. Hence, the constitutionality of a law or lack thereof, is one
for the judiciary to determine.
To
support education, the incoming members of parliament should review the
education budget. Such reviews should be conducted along with a review of
education data from the Ministry of Education as to how best to support efforts
to improve quality education across the nation. An appropriate budget that will
sufficiently mirror the importance of schooling to the future of The Gambia
should be proposed. Minuscule percentages such as 4.1% will not reverse the
educational crisis in the country. Instead, it will only strength the trend
that continues to support primary level education while ignoring pre-school,
secondary, and tertiary education. We need to do better than the past as we
move into a more prosperous future.
REFERENCES:
Susso,
S. P. (2016). Exploring evidence-based instructional strategies for the
education of students
with
interrupted formal education: A phenomenological study (Dissertation).
Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved on February 26, 2017 from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1801724766
United
Nations Development Programme, Human Development Reports. (2015). 2015
statistical
annex
tables. Retrieved on February 21, 2017 from
http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi
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