UNICEF Gambia Education Program

  • P Project/Program

? Activity Status: Unknown

Key Information

The aim of the UNICEF Gambia Education Program is achieving an inclusive education system that is equipped to provide comprehensive early childhood education to all children, in conjunction with health, nutrition and protection interventions, and to ensure the rights of all children to appropriate quality education.

Our education programme seeks to ensure that all children aged 0 to 6 years benefit from formal and informal quality early learning opportunities for enhanced school readiness. This is done through supporting policies and strategies on preschool education, sufficient evidence-based data and budgetary support; review and revision of existing early childhood development programmes; training of preschool facilitators and caregivers; parenting education and family support programmes; and the integration of preschool with interventions, including stimulation practices in health, nutrition and protection at the community level.

Our education programme also focuses on marginalized and excluded children who could not benefit from education services. The exclusion may be due to disabilities, gender, access or social norms and values of the families.

Key highlights

• Increase in ECD enrolment from 26 percent to 52 per cent   
• Gender parity in enrolment attained at primary and junior secondary levels
• All tuition fees in public schools eliminated up to senior secondary level
• More than 95 per cent of primary school teachers attained initial teacher training
• Walking distance to schools reduced to 3 kilometers (primary) and 5 kilometers (secondary)
• Minimum standards for facilities and learning outcomes developed
• Increased community involvement and advocacy through School Management Committees and Mother’s Clubs
• Annual publication of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) report


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Gambia, The

Government Affiliation

Government-affiliated program

Years

2017 - 2021

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Gambia Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE)

Funder(s)

Not applicable or unknown

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Other

  • Early childhood development

Quality

  • Teacher training

Cross-cutting areas

  • Gender equality
  • Nutrition

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Boys (both in school and out of school), Girls (both in school and out of school)

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Pre-school
  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

  • Fathers
  • Mothers
  • Parent-teacher associations/school management committees
  • Teachers - female
  • Teachers - male

Participants include

  • People with disabilities

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • General awareness-raising/community engagement
  • Mothers' clubs

Reducing economic barriers

  • Reducing/eliminating school fees

School-related gender-based violence

  • Safe and welcoming schools

Teaching

  • Pre-service teacher training – pedagogy general

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Gender parity and non-discrimination are promoted at all subjects/education levels
  • Increased school completion (general)
  • Increased school enrolment (general)

Cross-cutting goals

  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms