Ministry Overview & Mandate
The Education Sector Policy 2016–2030 marks a significant milestone in The Gambia’s educational development, being the first sector-wide policy formulated following the separation of the Higher Education portfolio from Basic and Secondary Education. This restructuring led to the establishment of two distinct ministries: the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST). Despite their distinct roles, the two ministries operate in a complementary and integrated manner to ensure a coherent and sustainable education system that supports national development.
MoBSE is mandated to oversee the delivery of basic and secondary education across The Gambia. Its responsibilities include:
- Policy development and implementation for early childhood, lower and upper basic, and senior secondary education.
- Promotion of inclusive education, gender equity, and special needs education.
- Oversight of curriculum development, teacher training, and quality assurance.
- Coordination of school infrastructure development, school feeding programmes, and life skills education.
- Management of regional education directorates and decentralization of education services.
MoBSE aims to provide accessible, equitable, and inclusive quality education for all Gambians, with a strong emphasis on improving literacy, numeracy, and life skills to foster national development and poverty reduction.
Mission Statement
MoBSE’s mission is embodied in the statement: “A Responsive, Relevant and Quality Education for All Gambians.” The Ministry is resolved to provide access to quality education that develops a computer-literate and technologically competent population, with renewed emphasis on Science, Technology, Agriculture and the Arts.
The Vision
The vision of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is to provide universal access to education for all children in the country. The education provided will be of high quality, with teachers properly trained through Gambia College or the University of The Gambia, equipping Gambian children with the skills to become fully functioning members of society who can contribute to the country’s success and development.
[Note: the live mobse.gov.gm site currently shows a “Vision” statement about digital infrastructure that appears to be a copy-paste error from a different ministry. The Vision above is the authentic, education-focused version confirmed from edugambia.gm — recommend correcting this on the live site as well.]
[Note: Function, Organisation Structure detail, and Senior Staff pages could not be recovered from either archive — both were empty/broken at the source. Fresh content is needed here.]