By Sainey Darboe:
The Gambia’s expansion of access to higher education hasn’t gone far enough to address the country’s development needs due to emphasis on “paper qualifications”, rather than technical skills.
The caustic commentary on the state of the country’s education sector was made by no less than the CEO of Taf Africa Global company, Mustapha Njie, during a chat with the media.
The real estate tycoon lamented the reluctance of young Gambians to work with their hands which impelled him to hire some laborers from other countries in the sub-region such as Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
“There is lack of skilled artisans among Gambians in the construction industry. In this country there is a lot of emphasis on paper qualifications. What we need in this country is technical and vocational training to meet our development needs”.
While disclosing the financial benefits that accrue to those willing to take on the opportunities in the field, he said laborers from Sierra Leone make as a much as D15,000 and some even D20,000 a month while the plurality of young Gambians perceive such jobs as beneath their dignity.
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