Dirk Depoorter
Monday March 18
It's already our last day. Return flight this evening.
Abuko Gammol Nursery School
We have an appointment at our nursery school in Abuko. Our English nursery/primary school, with 4 classes. In addition to the fun we have every time we visit Abuko, where we are surprised by the enthusiasm and fun of the toddlers, our objective is mainly to learn more from Omar Jarju (director) and Pierre (motivated teacher) about the differences between a English and an Arabic school. In the afternoon we will have a meeting with the heads of the other Gammol schools to determine what is needed to ensure the quality of education..
What Omar and Pierre tell us is that there are a number of conditions that must be met in order to deliver quality education. In addition, we get a better view of the different functioning between an English and Arabic school:
- The importance of the motivation of teachers and children. In Abuko, discipline is also a priority.
- Learning the English language from day 1.
- The importance of a decent curriculum, a learning method.
- The need for decent classrooms, with separate rooms per age if possible.
- Arabic is also important. Abuko is an English school. The approach here is that the children go to an Arabic school for a few days, next to the Abuko school where they are taught only in English.
- In an Arabic school, children are taught in both languages, in the worst case scenario, English is a subject like other subjects. To be avoided if we want to give the children maximum opportunities.
- To have motivated teachers, they must receive sufficient wages. In Abuko this is not a problem, because parents pay school fees. In poorer regions, where parents have no resources, this is a problem. Being a teacher is a 2nd or 3rd job there, just a matter of making ends meet.
- Teachers in an Arab school are not subsidized by the government, but depend on sponsors and (often too) poor parents.
The insights we gain from our conversations give us food for thought:
- When we built Falaa and Sanchaba we didn't think much about the differences. The need to give small children, who received little or no education, the opportunity to learn was our main motivation for building the schools.
- In addition, we wanted and want to establish a community of Gammol schools, so that the schools can learn from each other, to increase the quality of education. How can we put this into practice, knowing that Abuko is an English Nursery School, and Falaa and Sanchaba are Arabic Nursery & Primary Schools. We are convinced of the approach in Abuko, but we also know that it took years to get to the level they are at today.
- So we notice big differences in approach. And therefore we must also find answers to a number of issues:
- Should we only focus on Nursery schools (preschoolers), such as in Abuko, where we concentrate on a decent foundation. Or should we also focus on Primary schools, so that we can reach more children and give them a learning opportunity?
- We have established that the poorest villages lack the resources to have separate classes for each age, which means that different ages are in a class, which makes it extra difficult for a teacher. Can we do something about that?
- Should we limit the number of students and mixed ages per class to increase quality, but as a result we will have to refuse children? Or should we give as many children as possible the opportunity to learn? Perhaps the best students will emerge after all?
- Or is the idea to keep children away from the streets?
- How can we ensure that teachers are/remain motivated?
- How do English and Arabic schools compare, and how can we ensure that the quality of education is equal. What we will certainly not support are the Daras schools, which only teach the Koran.
- Could we get subsidies if we only built English schools? And what does this mean in practice?
- Ultimately it comes down to where we want to set the bar, what is our ambition/goal? What do we want to achieve for the children and what is the best way to get there?
I think we agree that “Gammol wants to invest in schools that provide children with the best possible education, which can contribute to increasing the children's chances of succeeding later in life”.
If this means that a condition for this is that we only build English schools, then we must do this.
Gammol community for schools
Our last stop before departure is back in Sanyang. We met with Yusupha Jassey (Falaa) and Lamin Bojang (Sanchaba). Omar Jarju does not need to be there, the conversation we had with him and Pierre in Abuko has given us enough food for thought that we want to share with Yusupha and Lamin to get their feedback on this. In addition to Yusupha and Lamin, there are two more elderly people who represent the communities.
Objective to put our heads together and see how we see the next steps. Both to creating the Gammol community and to the approach to education in schools. I also refer to the conversation we had in Sanchaba on March 14 with those involved. They have worked on the preparation. There has been clear consultation between those involved, which has led to an overview of the various aspects that we discussed earlier: financial, organizational and educational. Yusupha has put all this into a PowerPoint, which gives an overview of how they see the approach. An interesting discussion ensues in which we mention the various topics described above. Admittedly, the preparation is worth it.
One of the points that we have been discussing for a while is the differences between an Arabic and an English school. Yusupha and Lamin try to make it clear to us that the combination of English subjects (language, but also arithmetic, general knowledge) where the focus is on understanding and Arabic, where the focus is much more on memory, is a valuable combination. There is a certain logic to it, but we are not completely convinced.
One of the points discussed regarding the educational aspects concerns the need to test students in order to measure their evolution. It is difficult to compare our schools, simply because of the different environments they are in and the different resources they have available, but we still count on the curricula we implement, of which testing is a part , can eventually give us an indication of the evolution of the toddlers/pupils.
Our conversation about this is not over. We actually need someone here who could take care of the follow-up of this (and of the schools). Something to think about.
Our last conversation before leaving for the airport is with Yusupha, who comes to give us feedback about the conversation Babucan had with Lamin Jalang (Alkalo Sanyang) and the elderly in the morning about the Gammol House. The conversation would have taken place calmly, but with an outcome that, at least partly, we did not really like. For example, the elders are said to have decided to file a lawsuit against Babucan about the ownership of the land on which the house stands. And this is based on the donation from so many years ago, but of which there is no evidence. An unbalanced battle, since Alkalo can afford the best lawyers, while Babucan cannot afford this at all. Besides, we don't want this either. The last word has not yet been said on this.
At the same time, the VDC is willing to lend us land on which we can build a new Gammol house. There are 2 locations in Sanyang that we will visit, which belong to the community. One of the areas would certainly suffice. However, our message to Yusupha is that as far as we are concerned there can be no question of a loan. We expect that we will get the land, become the owner, and we are prepared to make an agreement that the land and the building on it will become the property of the Sanyang community, the day we would no longer invest in Gambia. The other option is that we make an agreement with Babucan regarding the use of our current HQ. This also needs to have a follow-up...
We pick up our suitcase at the lodge and drive to the airport in Banjul. The past few days were too short, our trip was too short to delve deeper into a number of matters. Saying goodbye to Lamin and Omar is emotional and weighs heavily on Omar in particular...
After 5 passport checks we board the plane at 8:00 PM and land in Zaventem at 5:00 AM…