Contact Address Details:
Website:
www.edugambia.gm
Department of Education
Willy Thorpe Building
Banjul
The Gambia
West Africa
Phone no: 4224505
(Switchboard)
4227647, 4227771
4229676, 4228232
4228233
Email: dosbse@gmail.com
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Background Information:
Minister:
Secretary
of State (SOS)
Name: Crispin Grey-Johnson
Date of Birth: 7 December 1946
Address: P.O. Box 26, Banjul
Structure:
The DOSE structure is a directorate structure with
headquarters directorates whose job is to evaluate and oversee policy
execution across the education system in the various regions for
consistency of standards. The regional directors are responsible for
the management of the implementation process at their level.
The Mission Statement of the
Department of State for Education is embodied in the statement "A
Responsive, Relevant and Quality Education for All Gambians".
The DOSE is committed to provide access to quality education to develop
a computer literate and technologically competent populace with
renewed emphasis on Science, Technology, Agriculture and the Arts in
developing a productive and capable human resource base for future
generations.
In the past, the (DOSE) Department of State for Education was
charged with the responsibility of providing general education ranging
from early childhood development to higher education. However, in 2007
a new Department of State was created for Tertiary & Higher Education,
Research and Scientific Technology. The portfolio of Basic and
Secondary subsequently went to the Department of State Basic & Secondary Education (DOSBSE).
Higher & Tertiary Education:
Teacher Training:-
Since 2001 the Gambia Teacher Training College
has greatly increased its enrolment of Primary Teachers’ Certificate (PTC)
and Higher Teachers’ Certificate (HTC).
A major challenge
however, is the less than desired academic record of PTC teacher
trainees, many of score poorly in math and English. This has meant the
need to often rely on unqualified teachers due to shortages caused by
the rise in school enrolment.
As a way of improving the
standard of teacher training a project called Basic Education Support
for Poverty Reduction (BESPOR) introduced a skills improvement
programme for 400 unqualified teachers in Region 5 to accelerate the
provision of trained teachers in the education system. This pilot
programme will be rolled-out in other regions in due course. The
project was funded by DFID and was carried out between 2005-2008.
University Education:
Before 1999,
The Gambia had no university. This meant that students intending on
higher education were compelled to go overseas with very few returning
back to Gambia. As a result of this failure the the
University of The Gambia was established
in 1999 to train and retain skills in the country. Since 2005 the
institution has been assisted by the Norwegian Education Trust Fund to
put together a plan of action to identify possible areas of expansion
to meet the needs of the labour force.
Source: Department of Education (Gambia)
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