CCM Ends

Educationists and their partners across the board including all other works of life met last week at the Regional Educational Directorate (RED) four in Mansakonko for what is called a Coordinating Committee Meeting, (CCM). The CCM which was chaired by permanent secretary Baboucarr Bouye, and co chaired by the honorable minster of education Ms Fatou Lamin Faye was a whole five days of intensive interactive and annalistic discussions marked by professionalism. More than one hundred and thirty people participated in the forum.
The CCM is a model which is worth replication in other ministries, particularly the ministries of Health and Agriculture. There is no iota of doubt in the minds of the people who took part in this very useful forum that CCM is tool for development. The Permanent secretary and his minister stayed throughout the five days discussions and they fully participated at all levels.
The beauty of the whole exercise is that once in that forum you can hardly tell who is the minister, permanent secretary or director from an ordinary head teacher. All were equal and that is what made the discussions healthy.
Education in depth was there throughout the discussions and field visits, and decided to sound the opinion of few among the fifteen head masters whose schools were visited during the school visit. However before going into that let me give a little explanation about the rationale of the school visits.  At every CCM, school visits and reports on the school visits are key. It is out of such visits that the education bosses who are part of the visits, but can only visit one school will come to know about real issues affecting the school as a whole at firsthand information. Sometimes immediate decisions are effected in the solution of those issues. One such case was the appalling conditions of teacher’s quarters of Medina Angalleh in the Kwinella cluster. The PS after listening to the team’s report on the school ordered an immediate construction of the teachers’ quarters.
The key activity of the CCM was school visits, after the visits the heads of the schools visited are invited to come to the larger forum for more discussions and clarifications. This can sound frighten as they were to face their bosses at all level. From the minister who herself was a teacher, to the PS who also was a mathematics teachers and to a host of others like their regional directors, Gambia National Library, principal education officers and many others. But on the contrary no ranks can be distinguished at that forum, its one that can be call truth speaking and no penalization, only corrections.   

In a face to face encounter, Fanding Ceesay head master Giffarong Lower Basic School told education in depth that CCM creates a forum where teachers are given a chance to share their experiences with others and solution found. He said it is also an opportunity for them to gauge their achievements and short comings. ‘’It gives me opportunities to learn from other experiences’’ Ceesay said.
Asked as what he would like to see happen in the subsequent CCMs, Ceesay was quick to say, more and more sensitization about CCM.I am saying  so because before the arrival of the team at my school I was really frighten, there are a lot of misconceptions about the objective of CCM school visits. However there are a lot more good things about the whole thing than speculated. So more and more sensitization will do us a lot of good, and the phobia of naming and shaming will disappear from our hearts.
Joana MS Jatta, one of the female head mistress, said I learnt a lot from the CCM. I am the head of Messira Basic Cycle; she said whatever I did not know, the team that visited me assisted me a lot to know. ‘’I am helped and lifted up’’ I will improve on the recommendations given to me by the team, that alone is a marked improvement.
Jatta said before the visit she was terribly afraid, because people told me that it’s like a court marshal. However I realise all such are false, the team was more of helping me improve and that is all. In fact I would like them to visit me again.  Like her colleague she is also calling on the department to give more sensitization.
Bakary Trawally of Nyawurulung Lower Basic School, told education in depth that CCM is very good and that its frequency should be increased. For him he said before, it was like he was working blindly. Asked if that was not an exaggeration as he is already a qualify teacher. Trawally said no, I am a qualify teacher but the CCM comes with things I do not know. Our profession like some is dynamic. He admitted that they have a document which is the minimum standard document which makes his job easy and it is in line with its objectives. As for him he only calls for more notice.
Yankuba Samateh is head of a Quranic school at Jaali. The school is called Alfaruk Islamic School. For him CCM was a great relief when the team visited him. He said he has already got the attention of both the PS and minister and that already other has made pledges to help put a roof over the children’s heads. He calls for more training so that they can produce best students. Like his colleagues he said he was frighten before the visit but was relieved after the visit.
The head master at Njoro Jattaba Upper and Senior Secondary School Mr. Demba K Jammeh said his experience was one of strength. I very much appreciate their professional advice. CCM is a very good thing that should go on and on. After the visit I am very fine it served as a problem solver. This school is expanding and that expansion was recognised by the education authorities. The PS urge the head to register students in grades 9s and 10s even if it means that they will use temporary shed as he was positive a 9 new classroom blocks will be built soon.