April and May are set aside by West African Examination Council (WAEC), the regional body formed in the courtesy of five countries, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone to be responsible for the evaluation of the academic performance of their young populace.
7th of April, marks the beginning of the academic stock taking of the 2008/9 senior secondary school intakes after their twelve years academic works in both Basic and Secondary Education are now writing to their final exams called West African Senior School Examinations (WASSE).
Although it had been along and difficult journey, nonetheless, this year’s batch had arrived safely as the previous ones.
The journey was rough, obnoxious adventures had happened, bitter lessons and experiences were encountered. But we had finally made it to the last blow of the whistle under this academic category.
Some were dropped along the journey due to difficulties in paying fees, some cannot cope due to low IQ and some had dropped to answer to the calls of the nature and may their departed souls rest in eternal peace.
A preparation for these days is more than million dollar expenditures to acquire this great certificate; In short, it would be very difficult to estimate or assume the actual costs incurred over the periods in question either from the governments, schools, parents and even the students and other donors.
It is a huge expenditure which should pay dividend in the end. At this juncture, we would like to commend the president Sheik Professor Dr Yahya Jammeh for his personal commitments and huge investment in girls’ education in this country and his concern for encouraging female continuous involvement in all categories of education in this country and all those who had contributed in one way or the other to dock this mighty journey safely and peacefully.
Our dear readers, you will all agree with us that it is a Herculean task to transform the minds of people from unknown to known. Such a noble and hard to crack task, needs patience, commitments, understanding and preparedness at all times in order to present the right and required materials to the candidates.
Parents, teachers, the Ministry as well as the students had set themselves to task against these days and are still working harder to make differences individually or at school level.
Schools like Sifoe upper and senior secondary school had come up with a strategy which does not give room for their candidates’ idleness which they branded as ACADEMIC CLINIC where teachers keep interacting with students throughout the examination periods free of charge.
The strategy is working well and hopes to bear the best and pleasant fruits and we must commend them for such a laudable effort and those who are doing the similar work but education in depth cannot reach them.
Where much is given, much is expected or anticipated. All what had been taught and spent on students as far back as in grade one would be assessed within this period by WAEC and by September, we would evaluate ourselves more and better when the feed backs are received from WAEC. 
It could be recalled that last year’s results was a nightmare to all of us and that trend needs to be totally discouraged and eradicated in our pursuit for quality and standard education in this beloved nation of ours.
Can this batch make a difference? This is a multi dollar question the answer of which cannot come from us alone, in the education sector but from all patriotic and good citizens of the country.
Such a huge expenditure must not go in vain like that. The students are now the focal point in our struggle for better and quality results for our schools and nations.
The appalling conditions of the academic performances our students experienced nowadays is not the responsibility of one party but instead a responsibility and a concern for all including our colonies and the developed world.
It is indeed a pressing problem which MOBSE and education experts is fighting tooth and nail to come up with a surmountable lasting solution to this perennial educational problem which can result to a creeping economy if not arrested on time.
In a week’s time, another WAEC academic stock taking will be conducted for two day to evaluate the academic performance of grades three and five pupils of Lower Basic Schools nationally called National Assessment Test (NAT).
This assessment is used as a barometer to gauge the progress of the pupils and their way forward in the quest for the provisions of standard and quality education in the public schools.
However, as a third world country on the process of developing, we need to device policies that are purely domestic and are not originated from the developed countries.
 They had started from somewhere and gradually achieved what they had wanted base on their traditions, cultures and beliefs, “better start to walk with coos stick before you can get a bamboo stick”.
Our education system is still not developed, we have just seen the first drafted  syllabi for senior secondary school and materials are insufficient in schools. The NAT results need to be published for public consumptions whereby parents and schools compete.
The last to be on this year’s stocktaking to be conducted in few weeks time by WAEC, is The Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examination (GABECE). This evaluates the grade nine pupils at the Upper Basic category.  Thus, MOBSE and upper basic schools in the country, through WAEC, would assess the performance of those pupils in this category, sieve them and determine those who are academically competent to go to the ten of the last class of the senior secondary education level.
Both the teachers and students at this level are preparing in full force in order to have more passes to the next level of their education and not a mere pass but to pass convincingly to go to their school of choice.
Preparations concerning the above mentioned assessments, need energy, time, material resources as well as strategic planning to achieve the desired goals of the Gambia government’s education policies towards the acquisition of standard and quality education for her citizens.
 As we are witnessing the evaluation of work of schools on all categories, it is incumbent upon those at the top management to account themselves frequently to know their weaknesses and strengths, what had been achieved and what not and why.
This would enable us to overcome our shortcomings and furnish us with new ideas as to know what methodology to use in our subsequent planning and implementations.