Science and Technology Education directorate under the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, on Wednesday 26th to Friday 28th October 2011 celebrated National Science Week.
This year’s celebration was held at Sifoe Senior Secondary School ground where ten senior secondary schools had from region two  converged for the  celebration.
 The Theme of the week was ‘A WORLD WITHOUT SCIENCE IS WORTHLESS.’
The week celebration began with a carnival from Sifoe Village down to the school which is about 300 meters was  led by The Gambia Police Band.
Dr. Sowe Dean Faculty of Education, University of The Gambia on behalf of the vice chancellor of the University of The Gambia described science as a very important subject.
 He asked the gathering to look around for five seconds to see and remember what scientific works had invented.  He used his own shirt as an   example, stressing that it would be inconvenience for him to go about without a shirt.
Dr. Sowe however, lamented that the number of students opting for science and mathematics at the university is discouraging when compare to the growing population of the country.
 According to him, all those students doing science from this year to 2014 are not more than five students who are specialised in either physics or chemistry and that not more than four of those students are females.
 He encouraged the pupils to take their studies seriously particularly in science subjects and be ready to offer themselves to study science in the faculty of education at the university to become teachers in science subjects.
Mr Babucarr Suwareh Director of Regional Education Directorate 2 emphasised the need for compatibility of science education. He stated that developed nations are indeed much more advanced in science and the combating of scientific knowledge into useful ventures.
 According to him, it was against this notion that his ministry ventured in to Science, Technology and Mathematics.
Mr. Suwareh   challenged the pupils to focus their times in science subjects which he described as key areas of study.
 He assured the gathering that his ministry has special sponsors for those offering sciences at both senior schools and at the university as well as provision of special allowances for science and mathematics teachers in the country as an incentive for the promotion and teaching of science and mathematics in   schools.
 He further informed the gathering that his ministry had created equal opportunity for both boys and girls to concentrate on science, technology and mathematics.

The Science and Technology Education Directorate Director, Adama Gimba Jobe outlined the numerous significance of the National Science Week as this is the 7th year of celebrations.
According to Mr. Jobe, the celebration is meant to demystify the wrong concept that science and mathematics are difficult.  
“The past six celebrations were held at the Greater Banjul Area but this year, we choose schools in the provinces to introduce them to the challenges of science as an easy field like other disciplines of study,” he said.
UNESCO representative Mr. Yaya Matarr Jobe said, “The impact of Science and Technology has been unequal for certain sections of the world community but   has been a force for equality and economic growth, opening up of new opportunities for participation and communication. For too many others, however, Science and Technology has led to marginalisation and impoverishment, widening disparities both within and between countries. Those who suffer from Science and Technology are invariably those already struggling with exclusion; the poor, women, ethnic minorities and youth”.
According to Mr. Jobe, his organisation now has been focused on bridging those inequalities, and their prime concern is to render globalisation by empowering people to escape exclusion and discrimination and empowering countries to become equal actors in the global arena.
Concerning this year’s theme of celebration “A World without Science is Worthless”, Mr. Jobe quoted the former director general of UNESCO, Mr. KoÏchiro Matsuura by saying that science and technology have a central role to play in overcoming many of the other social and economic inequalities that act as barriers to empowerment.
 He further opined that our success lies in achieving the MDGs to eradicate extreme poverty, reduces child mortality, improve maternal health, ensure environmental sustainability and combat HIV and AIDs, malaria and other major diseases.
“Our success in all these areas will require focused science and technology policies. It will also require concerted efforts to strengthen developing country capacity to lead and manage scientific research and development,” he said.
 
  He further outlined plans his organisation had designed in assisting African universities in developing science and technology to address regional challenges.  
 Answering some of the questions concerning   harms, those scientific inventions have caused to humanity, Jobe called them as misfortunate and abuse of scientific works.
 He cited an example   of the dropping of an atomic bomb at Nagasaki in Japan on the 9th August 1945. “That was an abuse by man not science. Knife is meant to help man but man used it to stab another is man,” he said.   
Ya Awa Njie, an electricity lecturer at The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI), gave an overviewed of her career starting from St. Peters Senior School and the challenges she went through.
 As a young scientist, she called on her female colleagues to take up the challenges in science and technology and always place themselves at the forefront of the development agenda.
During the three-day period, participants were engaged in different scientific works and a quiz competition was held on the final day.
One Ebrima Kanteh from Sifoe Senior won a cash prize of D4000 as first winner, Adama Jawo of Masroot Senior School went away with D3000, while Nyimasata Memba of St.  Peters Senior School captured third position with a cash prize of D2000.

 Bottrop Senior Secondary School came fourth and received a cash prize of D1000 while Sheik Hamdan Senior School took fifth position and a Cash of D500.