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The
Gambia Background The Republic of the Gambia has a total area of approximately 10,400 square kilometers and is situated on the West Coast of Africa facing the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded on three sides by Senegal and bordered on the West by the Atlantic Ocean. The country consists essentially of a narrow strip of land about 10 kilometers wide on either bank of the river, stretching from the mouth inland and eastwards for about 400 kilometers. Population The population is 1,025,867 (1993 Census) with a growth rate of 4.1%. The Gambia has a population density of 96 persons per square kilometer. The majority are farmers and 60% of the population live in rural areas. The current unemployed rate of 26% is particularly high in a country which is ranked among the poorest and least developed in the world (UNDP, Human Resources Development Report 1997). The total income of the average rural family is about USD 25 per month (Household Education and Health Survey 1993 – 1994). The government has put in place a comprehensive program for poverty alleviation. In spite of this there has been a decline in the economic situation of the country. Donor withdrawal after 1994, the devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994, the reduction of the re-export trade and a decline in agricultural production have all contributed to the deteriorating economic conditions which is adversely affecting the living standards of the people. The government has had to cut back on expenditures particularly in the social services and currently an economic recovery program is being worked on with the IMF and World Bank. Education A 6-3-3 system of school education was introduced in the Gambia in 1990 in response to a decision contained in the Education Policy Proposal 1988 – 2003. The first nine years of which are conceived as a broad and basic education which ideally in the long term should be accessible to all Gambian children. For the present and immediate future resource constraints do not allow it to be operational. The Revised Education Policy (1988 – 2003) targets as its number one priority – “Illiterate” girls and women in rural and urban areas with an emphasis on a renewed focus on the provision of nine years of basic education. This priority takes into consideration formal and non formal linkages for the promotion of low cost quality education which is gender sensitive and balanced and seeks to:
The education policy aims at improving:
Administration The textbook revolving fund was originally intended to be administered at three levels. National, regional and school levels. At the national level, the key administrators are supposed to be the Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Education, the Chief Education Officer, the Deputy Chief Education Officer – services and the Textbook Administrative Officer who deals with daily administrative responsibility. The Textbook Administrative Officer This officer is responsible for all administrative duties relating to the operation of the scheme, which includes the following:
The Textbook Administrative Officer is required to liaise with these officers on a regular basis – Deputy Chief Education Officer (services), Principal Education Officers, Principal Book Production Officer and the Principal Accountant at the Department of State for Education. Regional The Principal Education Officers play a very important role in the management of the textbook revolving fund scheme. At the regional level they:
The School Level In most cases if not all, the task of managing the program is delegated to either a deputy head or a senior teacher as the textbook fund administrator and is held accountable by the head for the scheme’s day to day running at the school level. The duties include the following:
The senior management team is responsible for the proper administration and management of the fund (see flow chart in appendix to this chapter). Distribution Staff members of the Book Production and Material Resources Unit (BPMRU) played a key role in the distribution of the textbooks to the schools. This was due to the fact that the then Deputy Chief Education Officer whose brief it was to administer the scheme, had his office in the premises of the BPMRU. The first set of books which comprised pupils textbooks and teachers guides for grade 1 & 2 & 7 were distributed to the schools in every region on the basis of a list prepared from 1993/1993 enrollment statistics. Movement of the books from BPMRU to the regions was effected with trucks hired from the Gambia Co-operative Union whose vehicles were also used for the distribution of food supplies for the School Feeding Program. The distribution exercise commenced on the 6th of January 1993 and was completed twelve days later. A total of 86,000 books were distributed to the regions. The first attempt at making textbooks available to schools on a rental basis was carried out successfully, with very few difficulties or problems. Finance With the co-operation of the World Bank which funded the initial textbook project; new textbooks in the core subject areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Islamic and Arabic Studies and Agricultural Science for all students in grades 1-9 have now been introduced. These books have been newly written or adapted from existing textbooks by subject panels at the Curriculum Research and Development Division and are designed to match the new education syllabi. Currently the pupils’ books are being printed in Hong Kong by Macmillan Education Publishers while the teachers’ guides are being printed at Book Production and Material Resources Unit in Kanifing. Eventually it is hoped that all books will be printed at BPMRU. The Department of State for Education does not have sufficient funds to provide books free of cost to all students. Hence, to ensure a sustainable supply of funds, students are required to pay an annual rental fee for the use of the books. This money is held in an account and is used to order replacement copies as books wear out (every three years) and as student enrollment increases. The rental fees have been the same since 1992 and they are as follows:
The textbook plan was phased in over a three-year period. At the end of the third year a total of 400,000 pupils and teachers’ books at a total cost of $900,000 were available for use in primary and junior secondary schools (Book Development Council 1989). The Gambia Education Sector Credit Textbook Component. 1992/1993 books for grades 1,
2 & 7 were introduced During the three-year implementation period from 1992 – 1995 the Textbook Revolving Fund Scheme was hailed by international observers as one of the best in Africa. This initial success was due largely to the support given by parents and teachers to make the scheme work. In 1992/1993 a total of about D939,506 was collected and in 1993/1994 the total sum collected was D1,991,086 or $199,108. This momentum was maintained in 1994/1995 when the total sum of D2,895,251 or $289,525. However like many development projects that started off well, success or failure will depend largely on whether the scheme can be effectively sustained after the implementation period. The Book How the books are used during school hours depends to a large extent on how classes are scheduled, and also the available storage facilities. In some schools where storage facilities do not exist in each classroom, the books are kept in the headmaster’s office. Each day a teacher or class prefect retrieves the books for the entire class. During each class the teacher asks all the students who have rented books to hold their books up for a quick visual inspection to make certain that all books are accounted for and covered. At the end of each day the books are collected, counted, and returned to the headmasters’ office. In schools with storage facilities in each class, the class teacher supervises the distribution and collection of books each day. The class prefect may be required to count the books after each class or day to make certain all books are accounted for. If a book is missing, the textbook ledger is consulted to find out which student is missing a book. In junior secondary schools, students are often allowed to take their books home on a regular basis. However each morning students are asked to hold up their books for a quick visual inspection by the form master. If books are missing, not covered, or otherwise damaged, the student would be required to give full explanation. Serious problems are reported to the textbook fund administrator. At the end of term the form master inspects each student’s book and records the condition in the textbook ledger. Because books are a scarce commodity in many Gambian homes, it should not be assumed that our students will know how to take proper care of their books. Hence the Textbook Fund Administrator or class teachers must give a lesson on textbook care during the first term. The class teacher should be certain to mention the following points to the students.
Building Community Support for Proper Care of the Books The textbook Fund Administrator and the headteacher should also make every effort to arrange a meeting with parents and village leaders to discuss the need for proper textbook care and use. The only way the books will be properly treated in compounds is if parents are willing to provide a proper place to store books in the house, help keep younger children from damaging the books. Unless these textbooks have the support of families and the community, we may find them to be only temporary assets of the schools. Book Inspections A critical component of any new project is careful monitoring. Inspections should serve a dual purpose, (1) to find out how teachers and students like the textbooks and recommend changes to either the content or management policies and (2) to ensure that schools are complying with the textbook regulations. Monitoring for the textbooks needs to be done at three levels. The Inspectorate Unit of the Department of State for Education has not been performing its role and responsibility of inspecting the books, monitoring and evaluating the schemes operations as envisaged. The reports of the Unit on the scheme in general, and the textbooks in particular have not been systematic, regular or thorough enough in scope. HISTORY OF THE SCHEME The establishment of a Textbook Revolving Fund in The Gambia was based on a study made by John Mace - a consultant from Great Britain between the 12th June and 31st July 1991. Whilst in the Gambia, he visited primary, junior and senior secondary schools. He interviewed several principals, headteachers, parents, and staff of the Inspectorate Division, several government and non-government officials. At the end of the study he recommended to the government of the Gambia, the establishment of a Textbook Revolving Fund under the full direction of the director of services. The director of services in turn will seek the assistance of the regional education officers who will be directly responsible for distributing the course books to individual schools as well as collecting all rental fees. The Textbook Revolving Fund Scheme which was established in 1992, has four main objectives:
On Wednesday 27th May, 1998 the Secretary of State for Education announced at the National Assembly that the book rental scheme for the lower part of the basic education cycle grades 1-6 (the primary level) is to be abolished. This is in line with the UNESCO Declaration for free and universal primary education and with the policy of the Department of State for Education to reduce costs of schooling and to increase access to education. However the implications for the school system and the sustainability of the strategy are yet to be determined especially in light of the fact that in the recent past, books have been ordered only through the revolving fund and through external aid. At the upper half of the basic cycle that is grades 7-9, the book rental scheme will continue. There is need however to re-visit the scheme and come up with fundamental changes in its implementation. Impact Generally, students, especially those in primary school, felt that the textbooks are useful – 98% of primary school students and 86% of junior secondary school students stated that they found the textbooks to be useful to them. The main reason primary school students gave for the usefulness of the books were:
Among junior secondary school students 42% felt that the books were easy to understand.
Regarding their level of satisfaction with the time that they have access to the textbooks.
The main complaints that primary school students had about their level of access to books were:
For junior secondary school, their complaints were:
The teachers’ perspectives on the usefulness and adequacy of the books were quite different from that expressed by the students. Regarding the time that students have access to the books, 71% of primary school teachers and 40% of junior secondary school teachers felt that this was not adequate. Regarding the usefulness of the books however; almost all teachers felt that the books were very useful (94% of primary school teachers and 100% of junior secondary school teachers). The main reason given by primary school teachers was that the books dealt with local places and issues that students were familiar with, whilst junior secondary school teachers felt that the contents of the textbooks were quite suitable for the syllabuses. A few primary school teachers however complained that the science syllabus was quite complicating for the students and therefore above their standards. The book rental scheme greatly reduced disparities in access to school and education materials between boys and girls and the haves and have nots. Parents who could not previously afford US$25 (D250) to buy a set of 4 books found it easier to pay US$2 (D20) or US$3 (30) at the primary level. However while the poorer families would rent the core books, only children from wealthier families would buy other texts recommended by the school thus enriching their won experiences. The book rental scheme has recorded several successes in that the availability of textbooks in schools has greatly improved teaching and learning. The pupil book ratio now stands at 2:1 in the basic education cycle. The cost of schooling has been reduced through the lower costs of the schoolbooks and this has helped to increase enrollments particularly that of girls. Constraints Some of the constraints experienced since the inception of the scheme could be listed as follows: 1. Lack of funds for the administration of the textbook scheme Some of the administrative costs were supported by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and others were not and had to be obtained on an ad hoc basis. It is imperative therefore that all expenses be cost and built into the budget of the Department of State if the scheme is to succeed. The recurring annual expenses that are directly related to the administration of the textbook rental scheme are:
2. Rental Fees Collection Despite the confusion over how rental fees were collected, the record keeping over the years has been fairly satisfactory. However the following constraints were observed.
3. Payment of commission to TFAS The original project document called for the Textbook Fund Administrator (TFA) at each school to be paid a commission to compensate for the additional work in managing the Textbooks. In a recent evaluation on the Textbook Revolving Fund Scheme, it was discovered that the Administration has not been paying commissions to TFAs as regularly and promptly as expected (Gorre Associates – Oct. 1997). Distribution Some of the distribution problems encountered during the early days of the scheme were as follows:
Privately owned trucks are still hired for transporting the books to the schools. These are not always readily available and can delay the process. It is unreasonable to expect headteachers to use their own money to transport government books from schools to regional offices. If this requirement is to continue the Department of State for Education must provide either reimbursement for transport to pick up un-rented books. Monitoring and evaluation If the textbook policy is to succeed there must be vigilant monitoring at all levels. Even the best policies are useless they are implemented, monitored, evaluated and changed as needed. Monitoring will take place at three levels. It will however be necessary to draw up monitoring indicators and all users should be familiar with how these indicators are to be used. At the school level The textbook fund administrator should closely monitor, demand, supply and alert Principal Education Officers through their heads about shortages, surpluses and usage or non-usage of the scheme and reasons for these. At the regional level The Principal Education Officer would monitor supply and demand based on information received from the schools. In addition the PEO would also monitor the status of fee collections and investigate in the event that there are any shortfalls to determine the reasons for the shortfalls and find solutions to the problems. The PEO will also monitor and inspect the book stock at each region and report on its status. At the national level The Deputy Chief Education Officer – services will through reports received from the textbook fund administrators and the Regional Education Officers monitor the status of the textbook fund. Orders for supply will be based on information received from the schools and from data received from the Planning Department. Evaluation The fund will be evaluated annually to determine impact, constraints, and workability. All stake holders will be involved in this exercise, that is parents, district education committees, regional education officers and the services division findings from the evaluation will be disseminated. Lessons Learnt
On the whole the rental fee collection has been far from satisfactory. Some textbook fund administrators have been travelling from the provinces to Banjul with large sums of money to be deposited into the main revolving fund account. In so far as the sustainability of the entire book scheme hinges solely on the rental fee collection; more attention needs to be given to its administration on the part of the government. This should include allocating and improving access to funds for necessary expenditures. The problems over the years highlight the need for closer co-operation between the regional offices, book production and material resources unit, and the division of services. Transport should always be made available for personnel from the division of services and book production and material resources unit to visit the regional offices to discuss and monitor the operation of the scheme at regional levels. Judging from the amount of confusion and reluctance displayed and demonstrated since the inception of the textbook scheme, it is apparent that sending letters and administration forms to the regional office without follow up instructions is not good enough for the success of the newly initiated book scheme. If the state department is going to use the regional office to re-distribute unused books, then the necessary workshops must be budgeted, planned and held. It is unreasonable to expect headteachers to use their own money to transport government books from schools to regional offices. If this requirement is to continue the Department of State for Education must provide either reimbursement for transport or arrange to pick up unrented books.
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