Gambia, The

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The Gambia is the smallest nation in mainland Africa in size with a population of over 2.7 million people (World Bank, 2022).

COL’s work in The Gambia is in the areas of open schooling, teacher education, lifelong learning for farmers and skills for work. It is part of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network and benefits from programmes offered by COL’s regional centre, the Regional Training and Research Institute for Distance and Open Learning (RETRIDOL). Learners from The Gambia are also benefitting from COL’s free, open online courses and other available resources.

Highlights

  • COL is supporting the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE) in establishing an open school. Mr Louis Moses Mendy, Permanent Secretary, MOBSE gave an introductory speech at the stakeholder consultation workshop in November 2022.
  • COL met with the President of The Gambia, HE Adama Barrow to apprise him of the advantages of lifelong learning for farmers (L3F).
  • Two national policies were developed related to sheep and poultry production.
  • New courses on “Leading Change for Technology Enabled TVET” and “Assistive Technology in TVET” were developed and offered with 60 TVET practitioners from The Gambia participating.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in The Gambia include:

  • Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE)
  • Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MHERST)
  • Gambia College
  • Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI)
  • National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA)
  • University of The Gambia
  • West Africa Livestock Innovation Centre (WALIC)

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Mr Anthony G. Mendy
Director of Tertiary and Higher Education
Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology

More Information

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