This news article is from the Point Newspaper. I remember forwarding a similar news article to this List on the decreasing returns of education in the Gambia under Yaya. We had Jali Gassa then throwing up tantrums to the effect that education in the Gambia under Yaya is getting better and better. Well, as ever, let him go tell that to the voiceless urban and rural poor, who can't afford the basics of education like exams fees. _______________________________ BSTS: Over 50 Students In Trouble Reports reaching this office from the Greater Banjul Middle School have intimated that about fifty-two students will not sit to this years grade nine middle school leaving certificate examinations due to their failure to pay their examination fees on time. Some students and teachers who spoke to this reporter but wish to remain anonymous explained that the exams council have issued a deadline for all students to pay their exams fees, and at the school out of about 500 students only about 121 failed to pay. The council then extended the deadline but again about 52 defaulted, causing the council not to do anything but to close its books and only allow those students who paid their exams fees to sit to the exams this year. Some of the remaining students who failed to pay their fees told The Point that they expected their school authorities to pay their exams fees for them out of the school budget inorder to enable them sit to the exams so that by the time their results are out they would be able to settle their bills. However this was not done and they will have to wait for next year which is really another set back for them. “You see the big margin between the rich and poor in this country” one student remarked. ‘The better- off families were able to pay for their children while we the poor ones were made to pay the prize of being poor’, he concluded. When this reporter made a phone call to the school, the principal Mr. Omar Ndure could not comment on the issue. According to him, he is only two weeks old in the school having recently taken over from predecessor. According to him, he could not therefore accertain whether this is true or not. he was however sure of is that the Exams council have issued a deadline for all payment of examination fees. He then referred this reporter to the Regional Education Office in Kanifing which could not be reached despite numerous phone calls to that office. _____________ CULLED FROM THE POINT NEWSPAPER _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~