Bakoteh Expansion?

Bakoteh Expansion ?

Bakoteh school was our first attempt at improving schooling in The Gambia - we have learnt a number of lessons over the last 10 years.

Bakoteh was set up as a community school funded first by GTS and then by GETS. Initially the charity had little control over the education process as we had little say in who the community choose as the head or the teachers.

Curriculum

2006 Report
to JRCS

After difficult times new staff were appointed and we insisted on more control of the appointments. Under the current head Nfamara Jarju, who is also the GETS Education manager (co-ordinating all the schools GETS administers) the school has greatly improved but it is on a difficult site with no proper play area for the children and it cannot be viewed as permanent school premises.

GETS proposes to build a 15 classroom school that will educate capable children from Nursery to University and when this happens it could well be the time to abandon Nursery education in the unsuitable building at Bakoteh.

With community consultation the building could be used for other purposes - but currently GETS has no plans in this area.

The time scale for the Nursery to University project??

This depends on funding, but it is hoped that a suitable area of land will be identified in 2008 and once agreed the project will commence.

Discussions are ongoing with the community of Busambala, a village near Yundum airport and on the main southern road up river and through Brikama. A possible site has been seen and GETS is currently in discussions with the Village Development Committee.

An alternative site could be Bwiam, through the Castellan West Africa Project run by David Goss and now merged with GETS - we have discussed the siting near Bwiam.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both sites - but currently the Busambala discussions are at a more advanced stage.

Depending on the location of the new school and if Bakoteh Nursery has to close because of its unsuitable promises - Bakoteh staff will be offered positions within the new project.