The Story of a Teacher in The Gambia

Gratefully contributed by UNICEF, The Gambia, 2009

Until four years ago, 47-year old Biran Saine, walked 25km along the seemingly endless stretch of road that leads from Basse Santa-Su where he lives, to Chamoi-Bunda where he teaches in a primary school. After his tiresome journey to school, Biran often steps in a near-empty classroom, sadly wondering whether any of the absentees would return to class. Once or twice a week Biran attends a teacher’s committee meeting at the School Cluster Centre 5.5km from the school. ‘Life was often very difficult for teachers, especially those in remote, hard to reach villages,’ said Biran who has been working as a primary school teacher for 15 years. Although he loves his job, not long ago he was on the verge of giving it up, to move to the urban region in search of greener pastures.

Like many areas in rural Gambia, Chamoi-Bunda in the Wuli West District in the Upper River Region suffers from its fair share of socio-economic problems. Many qualified teachers have been forced to look for better employment opportunities due to the deplorable social and economic conditions for teachers. It is estimated that 65 percent of trained and qualified teachers live and work abroad as a result of low morale and very little incentives to keep their profession, especially in rural areas. The high attrition rate has contributed immensely to the lack of quality education, low enrollment and retention rates. The situation in The Gambia reflects on a common challenge Sub-Saharan African countries face to meet the goal of universal primary education by 2015: according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics[1], 2.4 million teachers are needed in the region alone to reach the goal. An annual growth rate of 3.6 percent is required to close the severe teacher gap in The Gambia by 2015.

"The EFA FTI package provides me with hardship allowance, and my salary has increased by 20 percent, which makes a great difference. I save almost US$3 a week on transport fare thanks to the bicycle I received. The incentives and benefits are beginning to attract qualified teachers, male and female, to rural postings and revives our zeal for teaching. "

A program for students and teachers was introduced in Chamoi-Bunda Lower Basic School under the current 3-year EFA FTI program. UNICEF in its role as coordinating agency assisted the Government to mobilize US$28 million of the FTI Catalytic Fund in December 2008 to help teachers and promote quality education. The Gambia joined the EFA FTI Partnership in 2003. In total, EFA FTI has supported The Gambia with US$41.4 million. ‘The EFA FTI package provides me with hardship allowance, and my salary has increased by 20 percent, which makes a great difference. I save almost US$3 a week on transport fare thanks to the bicycle I received. The incentives and benefits are beginning to attract qualified teachers, male and female, to rural postings and revives our zeal for teaching’ added Biran.

The EFA FTI program not only addresses the social and economic needs of teachers, but their academic needs and those of their students. Biran received trainings through cluster based workshops to enhance his teaching skills. These gatherings also allowed him to exchange ideas with other teachers, discuss problems, and find solutions. ‘The program is instrumental in the retention of students, especially girls. It ensures that each child is provided with a personal textbook, free of charge, and other relevant learning resource materials, which has contributed to the increase in enrollment.’

Through the combined efforts of the Government, private initiatives and scholarship programs, The Gambia has attained gender parity at primary school level but is not on schedule to meet universal primary education by 2015 with an estimated net enrollment rate as low as 63 percent. Under the EFA FTI program the active involvement of decentralized authorities and communities is being promoted and Mothers’ Clubs are empowered to play a more significant role in advocating against cultural and domestic practices that interfere with their children’s education. ‘Although we still have a long way to go to further improve the education system, I’m now happy being a teacher. It’s a nice feeling to enter a classroom full of eager children and know that your day will be rewarding,’ concludes Biran.

[1] UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2009): Projecting the global demand for teachers: Meeting the goal of universal primary education by 2015, Technical Paper No.3, in: http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/Publications/Technical_Paper_No3_EN.pdf