Basic Education Project (Education III)
Overview
- Reference: P-GM-IA0-004
- Approval date: 11/09/2002
- Start date: 05/11/2004
- Appraisal Date: 10/02/2001
- Status: OngoingOnGo
- Implementing Agency: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
- Location: NATIONWIDE
Description
The five (5) components of this project will be implemented over a period of four (4) years:
Basic Education Access and Quality; School Maintenance; Girls' Access to Secondary Education; Relevance of Education; and Support to Programme Management.
Objectives
The project specific objectives are to increase access to quality education and skills development of the poor, particularly girls in the remote regions of The Gambia.
Rationale
Gambia has a high illiterate population, and particularly so among women and in rural communities. The Bank is already preparing a Skills Development Project that will increase the literacy rate of women and out-of-school youths, and provide them with micro-enterprise training and credit facilities. However, the formal education sub-sector remains disconnected from activities in the non-formal sub-sector. The Education Master Plan prepared by the Government of the Gambia places emphasis on linking the formal sector to the non-formal sector as a means of promoting literacy in local languages. This move will help bring schools and communities closer, so that parents can become more involved in the education of their children, through such bodies as school management committees. This project is also in line with the decentralisation efforts of the Government currently supported by the European Union. The literacy and functional skills component will be co-ordinated along with the UNDP supported Sustainable Livelihood Project, and the UNICEF project on Literacy for Early Childhood Development.
Benefits
The project will improve the access to education for young people in rural communities, particularly girls, promote their basic functional literacy and numeracy skills, and strengthen the relationship between the non-formal and formal sectors for easy transition for the out-of-school populations. Hitherto illiterate parents will be encouraged to play a more active role in their education of their children, and learning will be seen as something that takes place also, outside of the school. The project will also improve the capacity of the education sector to deliver services to decentralised levels and regions. It will also help to reinforce the decentralisation process in the Gambia.
Key contacts
YOUNIS Abdi Ibrahim - OSHD2
Costs
| Finance source | Amount |
|---|---|
| ADF | UAC 10,000,000 |
| Government | UAC 1,100,000 |
| Total | UAC 11,100,000 |
