The children of Madina Duta Wally village often travel approximately six kilo metres to Sukuta Lower Basic School to acquire basic education.
According to residents, over five dozen children have not been enrolled in school due to the distance between the school and the village, describing it as unfortunate for them.
Speaking to The Point exclusively, Alhagie Kemba Ceesay, village head said the long distance between the village and Sukuta Lower Basic School makes many parents reluctant to enroll their children thus continually increasing the illiteracy rate in the community.
“In this generation one cannot do anything without knowledge and one cannot even have good health without knowledge; therefore, we should at least have a nursery school for a startup,” he said.
However, he called on government through the MOBSE to provide the village with a school to ensure their children are educated like others in various parts of the country.
Kansya Ceesay, secretary for the Village Development Committee (VDC), said many children cannot travel from the village to Sukuta Lower Basic School daily due to the distance and thick forest between the two communities.
“The lack of school in the village has definitely retards our development because since the establishment of the village in 1954, only two people graduated from grade 12,” he revealed.
Nano Darry, women leader, said lack of a school at the village is backward for the village’s children, justifying that in this generation, one has to be educated to understand issues and life.
Mrs. Darry is worried that most of their children have passed the age for enrolment to school, while others are about to be married without basic education.
“Some of our children cannot travel to Sukuta village daily. Therefore, we need a school in the village because our children are not educated due to lack of a school in the community,” she complained.
Majally Ceesay, youth leader said: “Every child has the right to education, but children of my community have been deprived of their rights to education due to the lack of school at the village.”
However, he opined that government should provide a nursery school to the village to ensure their children have access to basic education at tender age.
Madi Ceesay, spokesperson for the VDC argued that government has marginalised the village in all aspects. “Government only comes here to collect tax and for political campaigns?” he queried.
