Education Reform
Building the system every Gambian child deserves from day one.
The Gambia's education system is producing a generation that is technically literate but practically underprepared. The curriculum was designed for a different era, prioritizing memorization over critical thinking and applied skills. The examinations that define a Gambian student's future are run by a regional body whose standards do not align with global benchmarks. School buildings across the country are overcrowded, under-ventilated, and in disrepair. Science laboratories lack the equipment to conduct a single experiment. Libraries are chronically under-stocked. There is no universal early childhood education system, meaning millions of Gambians begin formal school already behind. Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and under-supported. Girls in rural areas face serious barriers to secondary and higher education. Children from poor families drop out to work. Children with disabilities are systematically excluded. The National Builders Party will address every one of these dimensions with a framework that is not a list of aspirations but a construction plan for a new education system.
Imagine a Gambia where every child, regardless of their region, gender, family income, or physical ability, walks into a learning environment on their very first day and finds a system that is ready for them. From age five through university. A trained teacher. A clean classroom. Books on the shelves. A curriculum that prepares them for the world they will actually live in. Where graduates leave school as critical thinkers, digital natives, and proud citizens ready to compete globally and committed to building at home. Where technology schools in every region are producing coders, robotics engineers, and entrepreneurs. Where teachers are respected professionals who are well trained, well paid, and continuously supported. Where universities produce the doctors, engineers, architects, and innovators that The Gambia needs, and where those graduates choose to stay.
The NBP will build the first universal early childhood education system in The Gambia's history, giving every child a structured learning environment from age five.
A network of public Early Childhood Development Centers will be established in every district, providing play-based education that develops language, numeracy, social skills, and physical coordination for children aged five. ECD Centers will be built within or adjacent to primary schools wherever possible to support a smooth transition into formal schooling. All ECD educators will hold a nationally certified Early Childhood Education qualification. A daily nutritious meal will be provided at every public ECD Center, recognizing the direct and documented link between nutrition and cognitive development. No child in The Gambia will begin formal school without this foundation.
The NBP will replace the WAEC examination framework with an internationally benchmarked curriculum whose qualifications are recognized at universities across the United Kingdom, United States, European Union, and Africa.
The new curriculum is modeled on the competency-based structures of Finland and Denmark, the rigorous examination standards of British A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate, the STEM and practical skills focus of the German dual education system, and the digital-first curriculum approaches of leading US and South Korean schools. It is built around six core pillars: literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking; science and technology; entrepreneurship and economic participation; civic knowledge and national identity; health and physical wellbeing; and arts, culture, and creative expression. At least one Gambian national language will be taught from lower primary through lower secondary. A second language option including Arabic, French, or Portuguese will be available from upper primary. The transition will be managed over five years, beginning with curriculum redesign and pilot implementation before full national rollout.
The NBP will launch the Future Builders Initiative to enforce compulsory education, eliminate dropout, and ensure poverty is never the reason a child misses school.
A National Student Achievement and Monitoring System will track the enrollment, attendance, and progression of every child in The Gambia. It will be legally prohibited for parents or guardians to keep their children from attending school without just cause. Families in financial hardship will receive a School Support Package covering uniforms, learning materials, and where necessary free or reduced school meals. Safe supervised school transport will serve children in remote areas. A dedicated school social work service will support families facing hardship or instability. Special provisions for girls in communities with cultural barriers to female secondary education will include girls-only afternoon classes, female mentorship programs, and community engagement campaigns led by respected local leaders.
The NBP will commission a full national school infrastructure audit within the first three months of government and use its findings to rebuild every substandard public school in The Gambia.
Every public school will be assessed for structural integrity, hygiene standards, classroom capacity, and facility adequacy, with the worst schools prioritized for immediate reconstruction. Maximum class sizes of 35 students will be enforced across all public primary schools, phased in over three years. State-of-the-art flagship campuses will be built across all seven regions with STEM laboratories, technology centers, performance halls, sports complexes, and school canteens providing nutritious meals. All new school construction will meet full disability accessibility standards including ramps, accessible toilets, appropriate classroom configurations, and resource centers for students with special educational needs. Sign language interpretation will be provided for deaf students in mainstream schools where numbers justify it.
The NBP will make teaching a respected, well-compensated, and professionally supported career by setting teacher salaries at a level competitive with other graduate professions in The Gambia.
A National Teacher Pay Scale with clear progression from entry level through to senior and specialist roles will reward experience, qualifications, and performance. Teachers deployed to remote and underserved areas will receive a Rural Service Allowance on top of their base salary. Housing support will be available for teachers in regions where accommodation is inadequate or unaffordable. A Teacher Pension Scheme will ensure those who dedicate their careers to teaching retire with dignity. A National Civic Educators Fellowship Program will equip teachers and guidance counselors to deliver the civic and national identity curriculum. All new teachers entering the public system will hold a nationally recognized Teaching Certificate, with training emphasizing modern pedagogy, inclusive education, and digital teaching tools.
The NBP will build one National STEM Academy in each of the seven administrative regions, offering accelerated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs to high-performing students identified through a transparent national selection process.
All seven STEM Academies will be fully funded public institutions with world-class laboratories and technology facilities. Selection will be based solely on academic merit and aptitude, with reserved places ensuring equitable regional and gender representation. Alongside the STEM network, a National Leadership and Public Service Academy will serve students with exceptional leadership potential, and a National Creative Arts and Design College will support students with outstanding aptitude in visual arts, digital media, and design. These specialized institutions will serve as incubators for the future leaders of both Gambia's public service and its private sector.
The NBP will establish dedicated Technology and Innovation Schools in partnership with Turkey, India, South Korea, and selected European Union nations to produce a generation of digital builders who can compete globally and solve local challenges with technology.
At least one Technology and Innovation School will be established in each administrative region, teaching coding, software development, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, robotics, and digital entrepreneurship from secondary school level through higher education. These schools will also operate as startup incubators, giving students the tools, mentorship, and seed support to build businesses during their education. A national Education TV channel will broadcast curriculum-aligned tutorials, civic education, entrepreneurship content, and student achievement showcases seven days a week. A national digital learning platform accessible on smartphones, tablets, and computers will give every student access to recorded lessons and interactive curriculum materials, including a lightweight version optimized for low-bandwidth rural connections.
The National Builders Party will transform the University of The Gambia into a regionally competitive institution and remove the financial barriers that prevent talented Gambians from accessing higher education.
New faculties will be established in architecture and urban planning, agriculture and food security, medical sciences, engineering and technology, law and governance, and business and economics. Full government scholarships will cover tuition for all students enrolled in medicine, nursing, architecture, engineering, agricultural science, and teacher education. Partial subsidies of at least 50 percent will apply to all other UTG programs. A National Merit Scholarship Program will award full scholarships with living allowances to the highest-performing students from each region, with particular attention to female students and students from low-income households. A UTG Research and Innovation Fund with dedicated annual budget allocation will support academic research in agriculture, climate adaptation, health systems, renewable energy, and governance, with research partnerships in the United Kingdom, Germany, Senegal, Turkey, and India.
For Parents and Guardians
Your child's education begins at age five, in a public center near your home, with a daily meal provided and a certified educator in the room. From that first day through university, the system is built to keep them in it. School Support Packages cover uniforms and materials for families in hardship. Free or reduced school meals are available where families need them. Transport will reach remote communities. And every school your child attends will be inspected, publicly rated, and held to a minimum standard that is real and enforced.
For Young Gambians
You will leave school with qualifications recognized abroad and valued at home. If technology is your path, a dedicated Innovation School in your region will teach you coding, AI, robotics, and entrepreneurship, and give you a real incubator to build something during your studies. If university is your path, scholarships in the fields The Gambia most needs are available regardless of your family's income. If a skilled trade is your path, TVET centers across every region will give you a nationally recognized certificate and a real career. Your generation is the first to graduate under a system built for the world as it is.
For Every Family
An education system that works produces a workforce that works, and a workforce that works builds an economy that works for everyone. When Gambian graduates are competitive, they stay. When they stay, they build. The NBP's education reforms are inseparable from every other promise in this manifesto. Better healthcare needs doctors trained here. Better infrastructure needs engineers trained here. Better governance needs lawyers and public servants trained here. Education is where all of it begins, and under the National Builders Party, it begins at age five.
In The Gambia the National Builders Party builds, education begins at age five and ends only when a Gambian chooses to stop learning. Every child enters a structured learning environment before formal school begins, with nutrition provided and a certified educator in the room. Every primary classroom has a maximum of 35 students. Every school meets a published minimum standard that is inspected annually and reported publicly. Teachers are paid fairly, housed where necessary, and trained continuously. Girls in rural areas face no structural barrier to completing their education. Children with disabilities are included, supported, and seen. Graduates leave secondary school with internationally recognized qualifications. Those who pursue technology have an innovation school in their region. Those who pursue higher education find a university with the faculties, the facilities, and the scholarships to develop them fully. The New National Standard in education means every Gambian child, in every region, gets the future they deserve. The National Builders Party will build that standard and keep it.
The school a child attends should not be determined by the region they were born in or the income their parents earn. Every Gambian child deserves a system that is ready for them from age five. The National Builders Party will build that system in every region, for every child, without exception.
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