By Makutu Manneh
The Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), Dr. Habibatou Drammeh, has said that holding classes under trees in The Gambia is largely a matter of choice, insisting that school facilities are available across most parts of the country.
Speaking on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez on Tuesday, Dr. Drammeh stated that in instances where classes still take place outdoors, it is often because communities prefer that arrangement rather than due to a lack of classrooms.
“I have seen people sit under the mango trees, not because there were no classrooms. In fact, the classrooms were there, beautifully made, but they enjoyed the fanfare, perhaps, or the air in the environment,” she said.
According to the minister, education facilities now exist in nearly every part of the country, adding that challenges only arise when parents are unwilling to allow their children to walk short distances to school.
“So every corner of this country to some extent has an education facility, except if the parents insist that their child cannot walk, let’s say, for a kilometer or so to go to school. So then they can, on their own, decide to sit under the mango trees,” she explained.
Dr. Drammeh made the remarks in response to a question from the program host, who referenced a recent interview with a presidential aspirant that highlighted ongoing concerns about schoolchildren still learning in open spaces.
The minister cited a recent visit to a remote community in Basse, where she observed that a school was available within six to seven kilometers despite the area’s isolation. She noted that government efforts are underway to upgrade such schools to the senior secondary level to enable students to complete their education within their communities.
“But for the basic levels of education, the children have an opportunity,” she said, adding that while reforms take time and development is gradual, the ministry continues to address gaps where they exist.
Dr. Drammeh acknowledged that access challenges remain in some areas but emphasized that schools are now far more accessible than in the past. She added that many communities can now access all levels of education locally, with only minimal travel required—particularly for senior secondary schooling.
“Of course, with a little bit of effort to travel short distances to access some schools, especially senior secondary schools,” she said.
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