The Vice President received a delegation from the Teaching Legacy Summit at State House in Banjul on Wednesday, August 19, where organisers presented the vision, objectives and expected outcomes of what is being positioned as a major national platform dedicated to Gambian educators.
Founded in 2026, the Teaching Legacy Summit aims to bring together more than 500 teachers, education experts and other key stakeholders to dialogue, exchange knowledge, build professional networks and develop practical solutions to challenges confronting the country’s education system.
Speaking after the courtesy call, Summit Founder Rohey L. Ceesay said the delegation sought to introduce the initiative to the Vice President and explore avenues for collaboration and support from his office.
She described the Vice President’s response as “very encouraging”, noting that his background as a former educator made his engagement particularly significant to the initiative.
Ceesay said the summit was inspired by her participation in various seminars and international conferences, where she observed that development discussions frequently focused on areas such as youth entrepreneurship, while teachers and the challenges confronting them received comparatively less attention.
This experience, she said, prompted her to reflect on what contribution she could make to the education sector and ultimately led to the establishment of a platform specifically designed to empower Gambian educators.
“I believe The Gambia deserves a world-class education system,” Ceesay said, arguing that teachers must be at the centre of national discussions on education transformation.
She said the summit will focus on practical areas including classroom management, strengthening teacher-learner relationships and promoting innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
Beyond the summit itself, organisers hope to connect Gambian educators with education experts and practitioners from across the world, creating opportunities for professional development, mentorship, knowledge exchange and networking.
Ceesay stressed that Gambian teachers already possess valuable knowledge and innovative ideas that could help address challenges within the education sector, but often lack platforms through which such ideas can be shared, refined and implemented.
The summit, she said, seeks to bridge that gap by providing educators with a space to openly discuss the challenges they face while shifting the conversation from problems and excuses towards practical solutions.
“We have always been talking about excuses, and if The Gambia really needs a world-class education system, we should talk about the solutions instead,” she remarked.
Ceesay called on stakeholders across the education sector to support the initiative, describing it as an opportunity to bring educators, policymakers, experts and other actors around a common vision for a stronger education system.
She also appealed to the Government, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President and relevant education authorities, to support and endorse the summit.
However, she emphasised that the initiative is not intended to duplicate government programmes but rather to complement existing national efforts and create additional opportunities for teachers to contribute directly to education reform.
Ceesay further called for greater national investment in education, warning that the country’s broader development ambitions cannot be achieved without quality education.
“Whatever development that we are crying for, without quality education it is going to be really paralysed,” she cautioned.
She encouraged teachers across the country to participate in the summit and use the platform to strengthen professional networks, share experiences and ensure their voices are reflected in national education discussions.
The Founder also extended an invitation to students aspiring to become teachers, describing teaching as a noble and professional career capable of shaping generations and contributing significantly to national development.
The Teaching Legacy Summit is expected to provide a national platform for educators to connect, learn, innovate and collectively develop practical responses to challenges within the education sector.
With more than 500 educators expected to participate, the initiative seeks to strengthen the role of teachers in shaping education policy and practice while reinforcing a central message: the transformation of The Gambia’s future must begin with investment in those entrusted with educating its people.
