UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

the initial phase of the process of continuing and life-long education. In this regard, we want to emphasize that
access, quality and relevance should be the guiding principles underpinning the provision of basic education for
all. Consequently, programme content should be closely linked to the implementation of cooperation programmes
with UNESCO to maintain this balance.
38.8 As we are also conscious of the need to cater for people of high intellect, our senior secondary school
system has been overhauled and relevant courses designed to respond to the needs of Gambian society. This is in
line with our efforts to develop a national university – The University of the Gambia. Through this move our
limited resources could be better utilized in training most Gambians at home. This would also reduce the brain
drain phenomenon from which we have always suffered, since up until 1995, every Gambian capable of
obtaining a university degree had to be trained outside the country.
38.9 In accordance with our vision (Vision 2020) established by the Government of the Gambia, a high
premium is placed on the development of science and technology. The newly established University of the
Gambia, while learning from the experiences and mistakes of earlier African universities, will strive to establish
courses that are relevant to the Gambian situation, and in particular strive to fill the manpower gap of the
education sector itself and provide much-needed expertise in science and technology. In this connection, we
appeal to all our friends and well-wishers to support us in this crucial venture, for which we do not have any
extensive experience. While we acknowledge UNESCO’s support thus far, we look forward to further inputs in
the form of academic Chairs and other necessary assistance.
38.10 Madam President, while recognizing that the majority of our adult population, especially the
womenfolk, are non-literate, an integrated functional literacy project, especially for women and girls, funded by
UNDP, is combining literacy, non-formal education and skills training aimed at generating income, alleviating
poverty and empowering the disadvantaged. This project has developed innovative strategies including a
partnership with the private and informal sectors, which allows non-governmental and community-based
organizations access to public resources for programme implementation. Monitoring indicators, instruments and
schedules have been prepared to monitor compliance. For the first time, a management and geo-information
system has been established to ensure a reliable database. Most importantly, the programme is promoting local
ownership, while the capacities of the partner agencies are being built up to handle bigger interventions. This
programme is also redressing prevailing gender inequities by mobilizing support for girls’ education as well as by
enabling women to perform creative activities, build a public presence and tackle tasks related to national
development. Many women now recognize their interests, ambitions and personal wishes and are acquiring useful
skills related to their immediate needs and interests.
38.11 A national youth service scheme has also been established to train young people in citizenship and in
various skills. Efforts are also under way to link this scheme with the Department of Adult and Non-Formal
Education to ensure that young people have access to continuing education facilities and can serve as facilitators
of literacy classes in their communities. In the area of culture, my Government is committed to the preservation
and development of our cultural heritage. In this effort, UNESCO has been a useful partner in the restoration of
some of our national monuments and antiquities. We hope that this type of collaboration will continue. The most
critical needs of this sector are assistance in the management of monuments, in the capacity-building of cultural
personnel, in the conduct of research and in documentation. Over the last five years the Gambia has had
numerous programmes aimed at the development of the public media. A new television service has been
introduced with a network of three transmitters covering the entire country. Recently, a new radio antenna for
50 kilowatt digital transmitters was commissioned. In addition to the national radio and television channels
operated by Radio Gambia and Television Services, there are now eight private radio stations, and a number of
community radio stations have been launched and funded by UNESCO. In tandem with this progress is the
envisaged launching of educational broadcasting in the new millennium to ensure access by all Gambians,
especially those in rural areas, to quality education programmes that will back up the lessons taught in classrooms
and boost the quality of teacher output in the system.
38.12 Madam President, against a background of poverty, economic recession and increasing globalization, we
in the Gambia are using education, information, science and culture as instruments for empowering our people to
participate and contribute effectively to their own development. The emphasis of our national development
strategy is on building up the organizational bases of our communities so that they can participate effectively. In
this task we are aware that raising the level of consciousness and encouraging initiative and self-assertion are
important prerequisites for empowering the people to ensure that they have the capacity to contribute to
development.
38.13 We in the Gambia therefore attach great importance to quality and relevance in the education system.
Hence we place much emphasis on the development of adequate language – including mother tongue – skills;
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