Education in The Gambia

The Gambia Education System is well structured, providing teaching up to and including university level, but students must bear some of the costs. Many schools have dedicated teaching staff, but most are short on teaching facilities and equipment, and many schools have buildings in a poor condition. Efforts are now being made to come away from a learning by rote system to one that is more pupil centred, but progress is slow. Despite all these problems, children are enthusiastic about education, and many achieve good results.

Nursery schools - Nursery education is outside the state system. Many nursery schools are privately run, though nursery classes are often attached to state schools as a private venture by the head teacher. Nursery schools typically have three levels; N1, N2 and N3, with children starting in N1 aged 3 or 4. Although expenses such as books are low, parents must pay fees for their children to attend. So the annual cost is similar to keeping a child in primary school.

Primary Schools - These are known as Lower Basic Schools (LBS) in The Gambia. Children start in Grade 1 at about age 7 and stay there up to Grade 6 at around 13. The education itself is provided free by the state (in the State-run schools), but the family must still pay for school fund, some books, food, uniform and travel.

Secondary Schools - These are known as Upper Basic Schools (UBS) and have Grades 7 to 9, with an age range of about 13 to 16. Students work towards the Basic Education Certificate, which is roughly equivalent to our GCSE. These schools charge fees for tuition and exams, and the cost of books etc is higher than in LBS. In some rural areas, LBS and UBS are combined into a single school known as a Basic Cycle School (BCS).

Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) - These are equivalent to our sixth form colleges, with Grades 10 to 12 and an age range of about 16 to 19,  Students study for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), roughly equivalent to our A level. Tuitions and other fees are much higher than for UBS students, and as there are fewer of these schools, travelling distances and costs are often higher.

Further education - The Gambia has a university, and also a number of further education colleges, specialising in subjects such as accountancy, communications, engineering and hotel management. Pageant arranges sponsorship for a limited number of young adults in further education, but costs vary depending on the institution and course.

Other Schools - There are a large number of 'mission schools' and other independent schools that are NOT in the state system and these schools cost more than the state schools, charging fees even at LBS level.

Pageant's motto is "Education is the future". We firmly believe that education is one of the surest ways of improving living standards in The Gambia. Pageant provides help to schools with construction projects and with teaching facilities and equipment. This helps to improve the environment in which children learn. However, school fees and the cost of books, uniforms etc. limit the opportunities available to less well-off children. About 40% of Gambian children are not able to attend school because the family is too poor to pay. Schools try to give some latitude in payment, but eventually they will exclude children if fees are not paid. Sponsoring children from poor families can make all the difference, allowing them to reach their full potential and contribute to the future prosperity of The Gambia. A shining example of educational sponsorship is Mr Bakary Gitteh, whose education was sponsored a while back, before Pageant was active. Mr Gitteh is now the Headmaster of Bakalarr School. (more details)

Pageant's Sponsorship Scheme

Pageant has set up a sponsorship system whereby the entire amount of a sponsor's donation is sent directly to the child concerned. Unlike some other schemes, we do not put your donations into "general funds" which can then be used for anything - including admin or advertising. Full sponsorship aims to cover school fees, exam fees, books, travel, uniform and one meal per school day over a whole school year. Organising this involves a lot of work, both here and in The Gambia. We want ALL of the money you donate to go to your chosen student, so the admin costs are paid from the money we raise from Membership Fees. For this reason we ask that all sponsors are Pageant members. If you wish to sponsor a student and you are not already a Pageant member, then you can apply for membership on our Sponsorship Form.

We always have a list of children and young people who are currently seeking sponsorship. Our Sponsorship Enquiry Page shows photos of these students, with some brief details. You can use this page to request further information about one or more selected students. This information will then be sent to you by post.

Once you have agreed to sponsor a particular student, we would like you to establish a personal relationship, so we prepare an information pack containing a message from you, the sponsor, preferably with a photo, and we send this to the student. During each school year a message is sent back to you (in the form of a letter or drawing from the child) together with photographs and a report on progress at school. Pageant constantly checks that the money is being used correctly for the student's education. In general, sponsorship is sent to each student in two instalments each year - the first is sent out before the start of the school year in September, so that uniforms and books can be purchased and the first term's fees can be paid. The remaining money is given out in February, to ensure that funds are available for the child throughout the year. See how sponsorship works on our Sponsorship in Action Page.

We have also set up an Emergency Fund for children who have progressed some way in school but whose parents can no longer afford the fees, and for sponsored children who's UK sponsor can no longer continue sponsorship. We do our utmost to ensure that students under our scheme can be kept at school until new sponsorship can be arranged. If you would like to help us with our Sponsorship Scheme, but feel that you cannot commit to a long term arrangement over a number of years, then you might like to contribute to our Emergency Sponsorship Fund. A single donation can make the difference between exclusion and being able to take an important exam. You can send us a cheque using the option on the Sponsorship or Membership form, or you can donate online using your credit or debit card.

Click the 'Donate' button to make a donation to Pageant's Emergency Sponsorship Fund. . This takes you to a Virgin Money Giving page, where you should click on 'Donate now'. Donations will be kept separate and used only for our Emergency Sponsorship Fund.

How much? Not as much as you think... It costs less than 25p per day to sponsor a nursery or primary age child to go to school. The amount of sponsorship needed depends on the child's grade at school. The recommended amounts are shown in this table.

You can pay annually, quarterly or monthly; by cash, cheque, standing order, or by one-off bank payment. Contact us for information on making payments or for Pageant's bank details to set up a standing order.

You can download a Sponsorship Form below. This includes a Gift Aid Declaration which allows Pageant to reclaim UK tax on the money you give, making your support achieve much more without costing you another penny. There is also a separate Gift Aid Declaration form, to use for single donations or to cover donations made in the past. You can find out more about Gift Aid from this link.

Download forms	Word doc	PDF format
Sponsorship form	click here	click here
Gift Aid form	click here	click here
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