Education is believed to be the fastest, if not the only way, to foster development in a country. It is a fact that for any nation to attain its development aspirations, its citizens must be educated and highly skilled so that they can carry on the work of national development.
Experts believe that the budget of a developing country should prioritize the education sector as that is what will ultimately improve on the economy and the living conditions of its people. When the people, especially the young ones, are educated, it becomes easy for them to have gainful employment so that they can contribute their quota to national development.
There seems to be a funding problem in the education sector of The Gambia as in recent times there have been delays in the payment of teachers’ salaries (those in Board Schools) and what is referred to as School Improvement Grant (SIG). In fact, the President of the Gambia Teachers’ Union has recently warned that there is a possibility of the union calling for a sit-down strike.
A sit-down strike by teachers at this point in time will be devastating for the sector and will have serious long-term repercussions for the country. This is worrisome and the central government should do everything in its power to ensure that that does not happen.
Until now, there has been no payment of SIG and the term is almost coming to an end. It is this money that school administrators use to conduct exams, pay ancillary staff and buy teaching and learning materials. If until this time there is no SIG how are administrators expected to run their schools?
Perhaps the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs needs to look at these issues critically and strategize to come up with solutions to the problem. Some analysts are even saying that the lack of a substantive Minister for Basic and Secondary Education has exacerbated the problem.
It is high time the education sector is prioritized!
