What teacher training programs are offered in your country?  What is the average duration of these training programs?

“Basically, in the country here we have about four teacher training programs and those are the ones that I attended. One of them then used to be called the “teacher certificate”. That was obviously meant for teachers working at the primary school from grade one to six, but later on the name was changed and it’s called the Diploma Program. And that program took three years then, during my time. But now it is two years. We also used to have the Higher Ticket Certificate, otherwise called the HTC. And that was also a three-year program, and it was meant for those who teach the high level, that is grades 7 to 9 and also sometimes grade 10 to 12. But now is called Advanced Diploma. All these two programs are offered by the Gambia College. Gambia has mainly only one teacher training college is called the Gambia College. Currently they are trying turn it into university.

The other program is called the degree program that is often at the University of Gambia, and it takes four years. It is for teachers from different backgrounds, those who study English language, mathematics, etc. And that program can be offered to anybody, those who have never taught and those who have taught. That is pre-service and in-service.

Also, some time ago a program was introduced called the ECD – Early Childhood Development program. This program is also offered by the Gambia College now and it takes two years for people to complete it. It is focused on the kindergarten or nursery level.

So basically, these are some of the programs that we have here in Gambia. There are also some other institutions that offer training programs, like the Gambia Technical Training Institute. They offer some diploma programs in woodwork, in technical drawing, in metalwork and other areas. And the programs there also takes between two and three years.

As far as the effectiveness of the programs are concerned, at some level they are able to offer teachers training on content knowledge and also on pedagogy when they spend some years in the college and also university.

During my time we used to spend two years in the college, then one year in the field to be trained to be attached to a mentor who will mentor you and provide you with the necessary support. But now things have changed. For the degree program at the university for example, in three years, you go to the field for only one semester.”

What are the admission criteria? And do you think that there are inequalities in the access to training based on maybe gender, ethnicity or religion?

“I think you’re aware of the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination, that is when you reach grade 12, you sit your exam. There’s a institution called West African Examination Council, in the Gambia and Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. These countries are part of it. So, when you reach level grade 12, you sit to the exam. The admission is based on the results of this exam, there are three credits including English and mathematics, if you succeed you are admitted to that program and in the college.

There is the PTC (Primary Ticket Certificate), that we call the diploma program which requires five credits. Sometimes they will say four credit that is including English and Mathematic. But if it for university, to be admitted to train as a teacher you also need five credits, including English and Mathematic. Those are the admission criteria.

But sometime most these criteria are relaxed. You realize that most of the students who want to get admission don’t meet the admission requirements, they’re relaxed. You realize that some people will not get past it, just get a few passes and they admitted. But sometimes they also put a caveat on that, so before you finish your program you should sit to the exam again to make sure that you meet the requirements. That is, before you are certified as a teacher.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education also have added one requirement. They provide an exam called the Teacher Competency Test. The competency test is when you finish the college. That exam is given to you by work on English and Mathematics; if you pass that exam, you are given the certificate to be able to teach in our schools. If you fail the exam, you are employed by the government. But basically, as far as the admission based on gender, I don’t see any restriction of based on that.

All the admission that I know there is no quota based on whether you are man or woman. If you meet the requirement, you are giving the admission.

During my time the college was free. But now we have been privatized. So, students who go there pay tuition fees. So, you realize that a lot of students do not meet the requirement to be admitted.”

Are there offers of training program to practice teaching? Are there opportunities provided by the government?

“Yes, in the Ministry of Education we offer training program. Though the programs are not very structured there are just based on certain areas. Sometimes we will do analysis based on this program to know if there are some of the areas that we need to develop. And our opinions are always conducted based on pedagogy content, knowledge, technology, on gender issues so depending on different units. So that is the purpose of the ministry.

We conduct continuous professional development, but most upon that there is full time program. Some will be in a week, some in a few days, or even in the summer during the holidays. Most of the teachers that have failed the test will be on the training program. We call it the “brief course” and it took place during Christmas or during Easter or summer holidays, when the school close. It is based on two areas: literacy and numeracy.

Also, other units depend on the available funding from the World Bank and other older donor partners. They organized training for teachers, but there’s nothing like a structured formalized training program. Like if you have done the PTC at the college, and then you want to do the HTC, the government can give you a scholarship. If you finish you HTC, and you want to do a bachelor’s degree at the college you can also benefit of a scholarship.”

Is the knowledge content on the teachers’ program in adequacy with the students need?

“There’s a big gap between what you are taught in the college and what you teach in the school system, especially at the lower level.

As far as the lower level is concerned, we have a serious problem. It has a big difference between the knowledge content in the training program and what is happening in classrooms.  It has to do with the two curriculums. The curriculum that is offered in the training college is an advanced program, not considering what the curriculum that you will teach in the school level. When you come back to the classroom, you realize that it is a different scenario compared to what the college offering as trainings.

There’s a big gap between what you are taught in the college and what you teach in the school system, especially at the lower level

So, the two curriculums are different. Now we have seen that, we are trying to review the curriculum to make sure that curriculum that is offered in the college is on the same level as what is offered in the classroom and have a correlation between the two.”

What impact does the quality of this training program have on school results and student learning?

“The impact is not very huge because the trainings are few and far between. But if you look at the number of teachers that we have and the number who are benefiting from it, it is so small.

The impact is depending on different aspects: the trainings that are conducted, the few numbers of teachers who benefit from it, and also on the workload on the ground.

But at some level, there’s an impact. Like if you have done your lower-level training courses or certificate, and you go to the university or high level to attend a high degree, there’s always an impact when you come back. You are more trained, you get more experience, you are more qualified now to teach your students. We have seen that there’s an improvement for student performance especially in the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination, they are competing with people in Nigeria in Liberia, Sierra Leone. They are also improving on mathematics, science and technology. So, there’s an impact at some level but at a larger level, we still have a lot of work.”

As a former teacher working in the Ministry of education today, what do you think are the main challenges facing teacher training in your country? And what are your recommendations to address these challenges in the Gambia?

“I think the first challenge is finance, to invest in our teacher’s training programs and even in the entire education system. You know, in order to train people, you need to have money. So that is our problem.

According to the United Nations, at least 20% of the budget should go to education. For the Gambia far less than that is going to education. And as a result, the ministry is constrained. The budget that is needed for the government to be able to train our teachers, is very inadequate. So that is one thing though sometimes the donor agencies will come into the World Bank, but most of those spending doesn’t develop this area.

The second challenge is about the facilities that are required. The facilities that are required to be able to invest in our college are not available. The school has to do a lot of improvement.

Finally, some of these courses are open to be advanced courses in education or in tier training programs. But they are not available in this country, so you have to travel abroad to do it. Even if jobs are open in Gambia, we have to hire from Nigeria, Ghana, and another place.

So, all these are issues that we are facing. The lack of facilities, the human resource for the expertise that is needed to provide the necessary training for our people.”

How would you assess the working condition of teachers in Gambia? And how they manage to teach in these conditions?

“The working condition of teachers in the Gambia is bad. Firstly, they are ferly paid compared to Senegal for example. Teachers in the Gambia are earning less than $200 per month. Even $300 can be too high. The profession is not attractive, some earn less than $100. Obviously, it impacts their motivation. How to buy a bag of rice, take care of your family or provide money for your family?

Second thing is the workload. I was earlier talking about the teacher student ratio in the urban area. You can come to a classroom and find out that they are about 70 students in the classroom. Just imagine one teacher 70 students. The student ratio is too high and the workload are very bad. You work by 30 hours a week or sometimes even more, depending on the school that you’re operating in. So, the working condition is bad, terribly bad, especially because they are paid very poorly.

Thirdly, the facilities that are needed are not available. If you are teaching mathematics, you need certain tools to be able to teach the subject. If you are teaching science, you need the apparatus with scientific equipment.”

What about the infrastructure, are the conditions met to teach?

“No, it isn’t enough, but we have gone far with that. We have a foundation here called the MRT Holland Foundation, which is doing a great job with that. The government is doing it, we don’t have enough classes in the country but almost in every part of this country there are building classes. They are buildings summer classes, with solar panels. So, they are doing all those things.

We have gone far as providing those projects, they are available in both the rural areas and the urban areas. But still, they are not enough because you realize that if you go to some schools in this country, they are going on double seats. Some students will come in the morning and some students will come in the afternoon.

Also, toilet facilities are still not enough. You have four toilets for a school of 200 or 300 children. You have toilets that you dig on the ground, sometimes they are not at very good hygiene level. Water is rarely available; you can’t find hand washing materials.”

Do you think that the teachers feel safe while they’re going to school? There are some security issues or not at all?

“Currently, I would say yes. This country is one of the most peaceful countries on planet earth. But we have sometimes minor incidents. It happens like some time ago there was a student who took a knife and wanted to attack one of his teachers. Or sometimes they use drugs, and they go to school to find their teachers. But as far as the general environment is concerned, Gambia is very, very secure. We don’t have those situations here where you go to work thinking that somebody is going to attack you.”

Are they enough teacher in the rural area? What the government is doing?

“Most of the teachers want to be in the urban area because of the social amenities that are available, the facilities that are here and also you have an opportunity to teach to private school to make more money. You have the opportunity to go to university and go to school at the same time. Most of the qualified teachers are concentrated in the urban areas.

But because of the intervention of the government through the Minister of Education, some also go to the province where there’s an additional allowance called the “hard to reach allowance”. Like the farer you are from the highway or the farer you are in the rural area, the more allowance you have. This can motivate people to move there. Also, if you go to the rural areas, the cost of living is lower compared to the urban areas. Some of the schools have their quarter where teacher can stay. You don’t need to pay for housing, you are given a house free and the houses are always inside the school ground.”

Most of the qualified teachers are concentrated in the urban areas

Is it working?

“Yes, it’s working honestly, it’s working. Sometimes you even see that some teachers will come to ask so that they can be taken there. They are motivated by the allowances and the lower cost of living. If that was not available, major of the teachers will not go to the province, they will not go to the rural area.”

What improvements would you like to see in the education system to ensure better working condition and on the whole education system?

“I think the first thing that we need to start with is to understand that teachers are the most important profession we have in any country. Governements should start to realize that, in this part of the world, Africa, education is the most important field that we can use to develop any country. And use at least 20% of their budget as recommended by the United Nations to be spend on education.

So that all the facilities that are needed are available, so schools are built. Secondly, teachers are well trained, the colleges are well equipped, given the facilities so that teachers can be trained. Because if you don’t have qualified teachers, you’re not going to have an education of quality. If you don’t have well trained teachers, it would be difficult to have students that will perform very well.

Thirdly and most importantly, it’s about the payment.  It’s only when teachers are highly motivated that they can do their job. If they are not paid very well, you can’t tell them to do their job well. Teachers should be paid well. I’m not saying they should be the highest paid, but at least they should be paid something that correspond to the cost of living.

And also, there should be continuous focus and development for children. Knowledge is not stagnant, every day, you have new issues that are coming up. We should make sure that teachers are always training so that they can update themselves, thanks to scholarship, training programs. And when they go to the schools, the facilities will be available, the resources will be available for them.

When that happens, the education system will improve. And when education improve, all the other sectors are going to improve. If there’s no development in education, you can’t talk about developing other areas. I think those are the small things that we should do to be able to develop our country.”