Friends,
maybe you have red the information already. Else I have copied something
from the internet-version of Observer. The first article is from 20. april
this year, and further down another which I kept in my archives from october
last year. Both articles is about education- exams.
Because I over the years has come to know so many families in The Gambia, I
have seen with my own eyes and said it before: the ordinary gambians can not
continue to pay so much for the school-fees, exam-fees, books, uniforms,
transport, etc. Please try and give "education free for all" a top
priority.
I know that the government has build many new classrooms over the passed few
years, and that is fine. And I also give credit that they run a heavy
teaching program at gambia college. Now they have more than tripled the
numbers of students, in order to fill the schools with qualified teachers. I
also know that not all the teachers are satisfied with their conditions,
salaries etc, and the schools suffer lack of books, paper etc. But I think
that what I have seen with my own eyes is that there is a will to do
something for the better. So why not take the next step.
I´m so sorry to read the information that many students can not pay the
exam-fees. Why not as suggested by the observer subsidize the under-
privileged students, if you can not give it totally free ? How much will
200 times exam-fee be in the state budget, compared to the bill the nation
will have to pay in the long run. Some of the 200 students will not finish,
drop out, can not come further. Who knows what potential there is among the
200 youngsters, which the gambian society will never profit from if you stop
them here ? Or maybe a few of them ends up hustling around with nothing
else to do, are easy attracted/attempted into crimes to make a living, and
ends up causing problems for the authorities, which has to waste resources,
people, time, money solving problems. So both to save the states money on
the long run, but most for the principle, the consciousness, the care of the
nations potential - the youth, I think that the state should immediately let
the students try to take the exam, and then maybe pay back later, or have it
as a gift from a state that cares. Please don´t stop them here just a meter
ahead of the finish-line. Do something, I think it´s urgent and important.
And the President often stress the important role the youth will have to
play in the future. So please help them now.
Asbjørn Nordam
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QuantumNET
Friday, April 20, 2001
200 GRADE 9 PUPILS TO MISS FINAL EXAM
At least 200 grade 9 pupils from various junior secondary schools in the
Greater Banjul Area will not sit for the Junior Secondary School Leaving
Certificate Examination slated for May/June 2001 owing to failure to settle
their examination fees on time. Pupils from the Greater Banjul, Latrikunda,
Sukuta and Crab Island junior secondary schools are said to have been
affected most. Lamin MB Jaiteh, principal of Crab Island, said 795 students
from his school were supposed to sit for the examination, but that only 747
paid their fees.
He said his administration had made several announcements for students to
settle their fees on time to no avail. Mr Jaiteh said at the request of the
affected schools, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had extended
the deadline for all payments by some weeks and that his school was no
longer willing to negotiate with WAEC on the issue. The principal of
Latrikunda Upper Basic School, Mary Allen, said 30 out of the 583 students
who were supposed to sit for the examination, will not do so, cautioning
that the affected students would find it difficult to repeat in her school
because there are no provisions for repeater classes.
She said she could only allow some students to repeat in her school based on
their performances. Out of the 532 grade nine students at the Greater Banjul
Upper Basic School, only 506 will sit for the examination. At Sukuta Upper
Basic School, 40 are said to have been affected. A senior teacher at one of
the schools said the Education Department should consider subsidising
examination fees for under-privileged students. Officials at WAEC could not
be reached for comments.
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Copyright 2000 QuantumNET
14.10.00
WASSCE results released
The results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination
(WASSCE) taken in May/June this year have been released. A total of 3,338
candidates entered for the examination out of which, 3,324 students from 19
senior secondary schools sat to the examination.
A statement issued by the West African Examinations Council indicated that
38 students had passes in 9 subjects, 276 had passes in 8 subjects, 301 had
passes in 7 subjects, 425 had passes in 6 subjects, 421 had passes in 5
subjects, 413 had passes in 4 subjects, 397 had passes in 3 subjects, 317
had passes in 2 subjects, 316 had passes in 1 subject and 420 failed in all
the subjects.
Only 2 students had credits in 9 subjects while 883 had no credit in any
subject. The WAEC statement did not provide a comparative analysis of this
year's results with those of the preceding years. The identities of the
excelling students have not also been indicated.
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