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Momodou
Denmark
11832 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Apr 2008 : 20:38:53
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Ann Therese Ndong Jatta Challenges Policy Makers
Amie Sanneh
The policy analyst of the Ministry of finance must be taken to task for the declining trends in the budgetary allocation to the education sector, said Ann Therese Ndong Jatta, the former Secretary of State for Education.
This she said was done at a time when the sector has witnessed unprecedented rates of expansion, a reflection of the political will of the government. She stressed the need for the political will of the president of saying “ the sky is the limit when it comes to education” to be translated.
Ann Therese Ndong Jatta is now UNESCO’s Director of Basic Education in France. She made these remarks yesterday at the Jerma Beach Hotel at the opening of the International Conference on Basic Education in Africa Programme (BEAP) organised by UNESCO.
“The Department of State for Finance should translate these words into deed and not only restore the present levels of budgetary allocation to that of earlier years but must build into its budgetary assumptions the doubling of the allocation to education so that vision 2020 would be realized,” she said.
Madam Ndong Jatta described education as the key for any form of sustainable development. She added that getting quality, equity and relevance education is a right that will open the doors to health for all, sustainable development and wealth creation.
“Teachers should therefore not only be well remunerated, but their incentive should include free education for their children up to university levels if they have the aptitude for it,” she remarked.
The former SoS for Education, in her speech, also gave a brief introduction of what the Basic Education Africa Programme (BEAP) is about. She said BEAR is the strategy for the implementation of the Kigali call for Action which was the result of the Regional Workshop on basic edcaution held in 2007 in Kigali Rwanda. The focus of the Kigali meeting she explained was centred on the question of “what type of Basic Education and the purpose of the education in Africa. BEAP Ann Therese added, is therefore designed as a country led approach at identifying the gaps of the implementation programme of education and to develop a strategic plan for the short to medium term with a clear mobilization strategy for technical and funding support.
Officially opening the conference, the Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education, Fatou Lamin Faye, said the Gambia is ready for the Basic Education in Africa Programme. She added that The Gambia has already satisfied two important concerns of the Kigali call for Action which is “the extension of basic education provision to a minimum of nine years, with emphasis on one or two years of pre-school education”.
The basic education sector, SoS Faye noted, still faces the challenge of providing the children with an education that equips them with the skills that are required in the world of works.
Other speakers at the opening included Chrispin Grey Johnson, SoS for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, the UNDP Resident Representative, Vitalie Muntean and the Unicef delegate Vigdis Cristofoli.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 47/2008, 23 – 24 April 2008
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2008 : 22:24:16
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I am baffled. What did she do when she was Educatio Secretary for all these years. I guess she never attended cabinet meetins or the bi-laterals. Was she never at the Budget session at the cabinet discussing the estimates and Recurrent Expenditure?
Besides, the curent basic education policy which gave us the worst results last year in which nearly 50% of students failed was partly under her watch.
Why was she so quiet then?
Ebou4th
This is one classic exmaple why we need a conducive environment for dissenting views. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2008 : 13:32:22
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| Kons good point, 50% poor results not good. |
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