The Gambia: Education Country Brief

January 2024
Gambia flag
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IICBA collaborates with a wide range of partners. For The Gambia and other anglophone African countries plus Mozambique, one of those partnerships is the KIX Africa 19 Hub meant to promote the use of evidence in decision-making and south-south exchanges of good practices. The Ministry-appointed focal point for the country under the KIX Africa 19 Project is Mr. Alpha Ba. 

Mr. Alpha Ba
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Background

This brief provides data and references to the literature on issues that matter for education in The Gambia. It is part of a series that provides a brief introduction to the state of education systems in Africa. The work was prepared for country pages on IICBA’s website and a digital repository of resources at the country, sub-regional, and continental level. The brief series also informs work conducted in the context of (i) the European Union’s Africa Regional Teachers’ Initiative and (ii) the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) Africa 19 Hub for anglophone countries that promotes the use of evidence for policy making and benefits from funding from the Global Partnership for Education and Canada’s International Development Research Center. This brief and its associated webpage are meant to be updated as new information becomes available, at least on a yearly basis. 

Key resources: This brief provides the following resources: 

  • Educational outcomes: Estimates are provided for learning poverty (the share of 10-year-old children not able to read and understand a simple text), educational attainment and/or enrollment rates at various levels of education, the components of the human capital index, and human capital wealth as a share of national wealth. 
  • Selected literature: Links are provided to selected publications at the global, regional, and country levels with a focus on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems; (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning; (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. 
  • Country policies: Links are provided to key institutions (including Ministries) managing the education system, selected policy and planning documents, and websites that aim to provide comparative data on policies across countries.
  • Knowledge repositories and other resources: Links are provided to a dozen digital repositories that collate publications and resources on education issues in Africa. 
  • Data: Links are provided to data sources that can help inform education policy.

This country brief provides a brief introduction to selected issues and research relevant to The Gambia’s education system and links to resources that may be useful to official of Ministries of Education and other education stakeholders. A special focus is placed on thematic areas from the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the Secretariat of the Africa KIX 19 Hub. Together with the associated webpages on UNESCO IICBA’s website, the brief is to be updated as new information becomes available, typically every year. The brief starts with a review of basic data on educational outcomes including learning poverty, educational attainment, and the human capital index. The focus then shifts to information related to the thematic areas of focus of the KIX Africa 19 Hub, namely: (i) learning assessment (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching & learning (iv) data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. The brief also includes links to country documents and processes as well as a range of other resources and websites.

Educational Outcomes and Human Capital

The Gambia, like many other African countries, is facing a learning crisis. In sub-Saharan Africa, learning poverty, defined as the share of children unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age 10, is estimated at 89 percent by the World Bank, UNESCO, and other organizations. While specific country estimates are not available for The Gambia, data from UNICEF suggests just 13% of children possess fundamental reading skills, with urban areas showing a slightly higher rate of 16% and rural areas lagging behind at 7%. Moreover, when it comes to basic numeracy skills, only 4% of children meet the standard, with urban regions at 5% and rural areas at an even lower 1%. It is imperative to improve the quality of the education provided in schools. 

*Schooling does not imply learning, but lack of learning increases the likelihood of dropping out of school. According to education statistics from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), the primary school completion rate was at 80 percent in 2023 for boys and 96 percent for girls. The lower secondary completion rate was at 56% for boys and 75% for girls in 2023. According to the World Bank and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), gross enrollment in tertiary education was at 3 percent for men in 2012 versus 2 percent for women. 

Another useful statistic is the Human Capital Index for The Gambia based on six variables: (i) the probability that a child will survive past age five (94 percent); (ii) the years of schooling that a child is expected to complete by age 18 (9.5 years); (iii) the level of learning that a child is expected to acquire (353 on a scale where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 the lowest attainment); (iv) the learning-adjusted years of schooling that a child is expected to complete, a measure combining the two previous measures (5.4 years); (v) the adult survival rate (75 percent of 15-year olds surviving until age 60); and finally (vi) the probability that a child will not be stunted in early childhood (81 percent). Based on those six variables, the expected productivity in adulthood of a child is estimated in comparison to full productivity that could be expected with full education and health. The estimate is that a child born in The Gambia today will reach only 42 percent of its potential. This is higher than the average for sub-Saharan Africa region and higher than the average for Low-income countries.

One last statistic may help make the case for the importance of investing in education for the country’s development. A country’s wealth mainly consists of three types of capital: (1) Produced capital comes from  investments in assets such as factories, equipment, or infrastructure; (2) Natural capital consists of assets such as agricultural land and both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources; (3) Human capital is measured as the present value of the future earnings of the labor force, which in turn depends on the level of educational attainment of the labor force. The latest estimates from the World Bank suggest that human capital wealth in The Gambia accounts for 63 percent of national wealth. 

Gambia table
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Selected Literature

Supporting countries in using evidence for policymaking is an objective shared by many organizations and initiatives. Under the KIX initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the KIX Africa 19 Hub and collaborates with KIX Africa 21, the focus is on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. For each topic, a link is provided to the GPE-KIX Discussion paper written at the start of the initiative in 2019 and additional publications that could be useful for policy. By necessity, to keep this brief short, only a few resources can be mentioned, but additional resources can be accessed through digital repositories listed below. A brief note on UNESCO IICBA research is also provided.

Learning Assessment Systems [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Learning assessment tools and systems are essential to gauge and improve learning outcomes for students. A primer on large scale assessments from the World Bank provides guidance on such assessments, as does a review of learning assessments in Africa from UNESCO IIEP. Among regional assessments, PASEC (Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems) for francophone countries in West and Central Arica and SEACMEQ (Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) for anglophone countries in East and Southern Africa are the best known. These instruments target primary schools. Other tools that focus and assess the learning outcomes of young learners include the Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA). Supported and funded primarily by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), these assessments are administered by different agencies such as the World Bank, RTI International and others across the continent. The West African Examinations Council also provides guidance on examinations and certificate accreditation in Anglophone countries of West Africa Also interesting is PISA for development which is being piloted in secondary schools in a few African countries. The Gambia is a member of the West African Examinations Council. 

The Gambia does not currently participate in regional or international assessments but participates in the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA). The Gambia most recently conducted the EGRA in 2017 and intends to carry out the next EGRA in May 2023.  A National Assessment Test is administrated in Grades 3, 5, and 8. The directorate responsible for administrating these tests are the Planning Policy Analysis Research and Budgeting Directorate, Curriculum Research Evaluation and Development Directorate, and Standards and Quality Assurance Directorate.  The management of the Assessment Unit (AU) is under the West African Examinations Council. For more information on how The Gambia uses learning assessment data for educational planning, see UNESCO’s IIEP report, 'Using Learning Assessment Data for Educational Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Analysis'. This report provides a comparative analysis of how six sub-Saharan African countries use learning assessment data to improve their education systems. The Gambia has also piloted developing and implementing 21st Century Skills as noted in this 2020 Brookings report.   

In February 2023, officials from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) presented The Gambia’s plan to reform assessments, shifting from content-based assessments to competency-based assessments during a KIX Africa 19 Hub Community of Practice on Competency Based Education. 

Improving Teaching and Learning [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. How teachers and students interact and engage is key to improve learning outcomes. Cost-effective approaches pr ‘smart buys’ to improve learning in low-income countries are discussed in a World Bank report. Teaching is paramount, and therefore so are teacher policies to ensure that successful teachers make for successful students. Standards for the teaching profession were proposed by Education International and UNESCO with regional standards available from the Africa Union Commission, including a framework for standards and competencies. 

The structure for the education system in The Gambia is 3-6-3-3-4. The first three years cover Early Childhood Development (ECD) from Level 1 to 3. Then, there is a 6-year span for Lower Basic Education (Grade 1 to 6) followed by three years for Upper Basic Education (Grade 7 to 9). Subsequently, 3 years for Secondary Education (Grade 10 to 12) are followed by four years of tertiary education.

Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Experiences children undergo in early childhood can affect their entire life. Nurturing care is essential. Essential interventions in early childhood include pre-primary education.  Yet less than half of young children in Africa benefit from pre-primary education according to the Global Education Monitoring report 2021. The Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) is a tool by UNICEF that can be used to measure the overall well-being of children aged 2-5. It does this by assessing their development in key areas such as literacy and numeracy, physical development, social-emotional development, and learning capacity. The ECDI is made up of a series of simple tasks that are designed to be age appropriate.  The Office of Research at UNICEF maintains a webpage with useful links to organizations working on child-related themes organized by subject, including early childhood. 

In The Gambia, 67% of children aged 3-4 are developmentally on track according to the ECDI. A greater percentage of girls are developmentally on track compared to boys (69 percent versus 65 percent), and the same trend applies to urban children in contrast to their rural children (72 percent versus 59 percent). On a national scale, approximately 24 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 5 participate in ECE. Notably, children who attend ECE are more likely to be developmentally on track than those who do not attend, by a margin of 17 percentage points, according to the 2020 MICS-EAGLE report. Basic data on early childhood development are available from a nurturing care profile.

Achieving Gender Equality In and Through Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. The cost of gender inequality is massive, as is the cost of not educating girls, including in Africa. When girls lack education, this affects their earnings in adulthood, the number of children they will have and their health, as well as their agency, among others. When girls are not in school, they are also at higher risk of child marriage, with again high costs for them, their children, and society. In Africa, the African Union’s International Centre for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa supports member states on girls’ education. 

According to UNICEF MICS-EAGLE findings, girls complete primary school at a higher rate (69%) than boys (61%). However, this pattern changes at the upper secondary school level, with 31% of boys completing compared to 28% of girls, suggesting the presence of factors specific to girls that impede their education. A 2022 UNICEF report on Child Marriage in Child marriage in West and Central Africa estimates that 1 in 4 young women were first married or in union before the age of 18. 49% of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 had no education as compared to 9% who had at least a secondary education.

Data Management Systems Strengthening [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Education management information systems (EMIS) are key for management. They can also support evidence-based policymaking. In Africa, the African Union’s Institute of Education for Development supports member states on EMIS. In addition to EMIS data, other data sources including household surveys, school surveys, student assessments, and impact evaluations of pilot interventions are essential to inform policy. 

According to a joint 2020 report by UNESCO and the Global Partnership for Education, The Gambia's education system has experienced more consistent growth since 2010, driven by the development and implementation of the EMIS and the linking of data to school improvement grants. These initiatives have provided schools with quantifiable data, clear deadlines, and constructive feedback, facilitating improved performance. 

Equity and Inclusion/Leaving No One Behind [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Equity and inclusion are major challenges for education systems. Gender, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, poverty, displacement, and many other factors may all lead some children to lack access to education. In Africa especially, gaps in educational outcomes between groups may be large, as illustrated in the case of disability. Equity must be at the center of education policy on the continent. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are two major international frameworks related to disability-inclusive education exist. 

The Gambian Constitution enshrines the right to free, compulsory, and universally accessible basic education. The Gambia introduced free education in stages, starting with primary school in 2013, lower secondary school in 2014, and upper secondary school in 2015. However, children from the poorest quintile are more likely to not complete primary school than children from wealthier quintiles. In fact, they make up 28% of all primary school non-completers, while the wealthiest 40% of children only make up 24% of non-completers according to UNICEF MICS-EAGLE findings (2020). 

Furthermore, 10% of children aged 5 to 17 across the country have at least one functional difficulty. Children without functional difficulties have a 12% higher attendance rate at the primary level (75% vs 63%) and a 26% higher attendance rate at the lower secondary level (62% vs 36%) than their peers with functional difficulties. For more country specific data on disabilities see UNICEF’s report “In Pursuit of Education for All in West and Central Africa: What do the data tell us about children with disabilities”. 

 Note on UNESCO IICBA Research. IICBA recently launched a new program of applied research on teacher and education issues in Africa. A total of 200 publications have been completed from January to September 2023, including studies, discussion papers, training guides, reports, knowledge briefs, event summaries, and interviews. Several of those publications focus on The Gambia. All publications are available on IICBA’s website. 

Country Policies 

Information on The Gambia’s education system and policies is available on the website of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education which covers basic and secondary education. The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology covers higher education as well as technical education and vocational training (TVET). The Education Sector Strategic Plan (2016-2030) is the flagship policy guiding the sector. 

According to UNESCO, The Gambia has yet to adopt international  best  practices in  setting  up professional  standards and competencies for teachers and a teacher regulatory body. It does not have a teacher service commission. 

A few organizations aim to capture education policies on specific themes across countries, including The Gambia. UNESCO’s Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews (PEER) covering the themes of the Global Education Monitoring reports, including: inclusion in education (2020 Report), non-state actors in education (2021/22 Report), technology in education (2023 Report) and leadership in education (2024/25 Report, forthcoming). PEER also covers additional topics on key SDG 4 issues, including financing for equity, climate change communication and education, and comprehensive sexuality education. 

Knowledge Repositories

Only a few links to the literature on education by theme for The Gambia, Africa, and globally were provided earlier to keep the brief short, but repositories of digital resources facilitate access to the literature. A few of those repositories are listed below by alphabetical order:

Many organizations maintain websites that include country pages with useful information. Examples include the GPE The Gambia Country Page; World Bank The Gambia Country Page; UNESCO IIEP Country Page. Many organizations also maintain blogs on education issues, often with stories on Africa. Examples include Education for All (Global Partnership for Education), Education for Global Development (World Bank), Education Plus Development (Brookings Institutions), and World Education Blog (UNESCO). Beyond blogs focusing on education, blogs on Africa more generally may also provide useful resources. This includes Africa Can End Poverty and Nasikiliza (the World Bank’s two blogs for sub-Saharan Africa ) and  Arab Voices (the Bank’s blog for the Middle East and North Africa).

Data

It is often useful to download data for The Gambia and other countries from multi-country databases. The largest database on development, including education data, is the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). The World Bank also maintain the Education Statistics (EdStats) database. Both World Bank databases rely in part for education on data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UNESCO also maintains the Global Education Observatory and the World Inequality Database in Education (WIDE), as well as a wide range of other databases. Specific estimates are occasionally maintained by other agencies. For example, UNICEF provides data on out-of-school rates, adjusted net attendance rates, completion rates, foundational learning skills, information communication technology skills, youth and adult literacy rates, and school-age digital connectivity. Another useful reference is StatCompiler which provides data at various levels of aggregation from Demographic and Health Surveys across countries and over time, including The Gambia. For comparison purposes, data from the OECD for member and partner countries (including South Africa) can be useful.

References

References are available through the links provided in this brief. We would also like to acknowledge Mr. Modou Sowe and other colleagues at the MoBSE for their valuable advice during the validation process of this document.