The Government and international organisations are however working to improve the situation, which presently stands as follows:
Forty-one (41)% of youth have never attained formal education or only attained primary education. One in two youths has attained secondary education. Tertiary educated youths account for 7% of the youth population.
The Gambian education system is based on the British system and is structured as follows:
Early Childhood Development (ECD): 3 years (Level 1 to 3)
Lower Basic Education: 6 years (Grades 1-6)
Upper Basic Education: 3 years (Grades 7-9)
Secondary Education: 3 years (Grades 10-12)
Tertiary Education: 4 years
The school-going age is officially seven years.
Challenges and Issues
Low Learning Outcomes: Despite expansion of the education sector, low learning outcomes persist, requiring strategic partnerships to create conducive learning environments.
Access Disparities: Disparities exist along the urban-rural divide, with lower literacy rates in rural areas.
Gender Disparities: Social norms often prioritize marriage over girls' education, and boys may face pressure to seek employment abroad.
Poverty: Poverty has a major impact on literacy and educational attainment.
ICT Skills: ICT skills are not prevalent in the population aged 15 to 24 years old.
Completion Rates: Many children are not able to complete the full cycle of schooling, with primary school completion rates at 88%, upper basic school at 65% and senior secondary school at 47%.
Inclusive Education: Children with disabilities face limited access due to social norms and structural barriers.
The Gambia, like many developing countries, faces obstacles in both youth engagement and SME competitiveness.
On the one side, SMEs face difficulties finding the skilled employees they need to be competitive and trade. Technical and vocational education and training play a critical role in economic growth, helping to develop skills required to improve the productivity of industries, raise income levels for citizens and improve access to employment opportunities for youth.
To reconnect young populations and SMEs, the Gambian Government has focused on the prime intermediary between them – TVET – by developing national TVET Roadmap.
The Gambian TVET system can only support youth employment and SME competitiveness if it is able to ensure a homogenous quality of training delivery, alignment of courses to employers’ needs and education accessibility in rural regions.
The roadmap aims to achieve this through coordinated action at the regional and national levels.
The objectives and activities of the roadmap rely on a detailed diagnosis of the TVET and apprenticeship systems, as well as their supporting policy and regulatory frameworks.
