Equality of Opportunity in Education and Training - Gambia National Action Plan for Education, 2003

Gambia National Action Plan for Education, 2003

The Plan has been drafted by the Department of State for Education

Redressing gender inequalities is one of the main focuses of the The National Action Plan and gender issues are mainstreamed into different sections of the Plan, although it also has a chapter on girls’ education.

The Plan establishes that increasing female enrolment, especially on the Secondary level, and improving on retention rates is essential in order to achieve the Gambia’s Education for All (EFA) goals.

The Plan identifies the following broad objectives:

• Increasing access to education particularly for the girl child and those living in marginalised and deprived communities. This education includes Madrassah education.
  
• Improving the quality and relevance of mainstream schooling and vocational and life skills training;
  
• Increased attention to non-formal, early childhood and special needs education;
  
• Further re-organisation of the Department of State for Education to take on board government's decentralisation process;
  
• Better management capacity and professional development at all levels; and
  
• Improved access to higher education.
  

Chapter on Girls Education establishes that all interventions are geared towards creating an enabling environment for girls and women to compete equally with boys and men. However, the specific strategies for improving gender equality in basic education are:

1. Lowering the cost of education for girls through a female scholarship scheme at the upper Basic and Secondary levels

• The Scholarship Trust Fund for girls is to be expanded to cover all the Educational Regions to reduce the cost of education and consequently attract more girls to school, especially those from poor families;
  
• The government will cover the cost of learning materials at the lower basic level for the pupils under the scholarship, as well as the Examination fees.
  

2. Providing a clean, safe and supportive environment for girls in school

• To increase the amount of female teachers, special programmes are set for women in teacher training. In addition, more teachers will be provided with the skills and knowledge to provide the required services particularly for girls. For new entrants to the teaching profession, training modules on guidance and counselling and gender awareness will form part of the training programme.
  
• The curriculum and all teaching/learning materials, which are undergoing review, will be made more gender sensitive through a review subject panel system. Subject stereotyping will be discouraged and emphasis placed on fair representation of females in every subject area.
  
• guidance and counselling services will be extended to primary schools in addition to upper Basic and Secondary Schools;
  
• The sexual harassment policy, which has been developed, will be implemented and enforced
  
• classroom construction programme which provides separate toilets for girls in all schools will be maintained
  
• The construction programme which provides for separate toilet facilities in schools will be maintained.
  
• Special facilities will be attached to the toilets and the scholarship scheme will include a sum that will allow girls from poor communities to have access to basic sanitary tools
  

3. Mobilising and sensitising communities to develop local solutions to the problem girls face in their communities.

• Extending community mobilisation and sensitization using the multi-sectoral approach to the issues associated with girls’ education.
  
• In addition, Guidance and Counselling, Peer Health Education, HIV/AIDS education and Adolescence and reproductive health issues will form an integral part of the sensitisation programme.
  

One of the strategies of implementing the National Action Plan for Education objectives towards gender equality is the School Feeding Programme.