Dropout Alert: Ballingho Women Worries about the Future of their Children

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Ballingho Primary and ECD



The women of Ballingho Village, which is 9 Kilometres away from the Gambia’s administrative town of  Farafenni in the North Bank Region, are worried about the educational future of their children.

The women farmers who are mothers and grandmothers to these children said their children, after being enrolled in the village’s only Primary School and studying up to Grade 6, find it very difficult to continue their education in the Upper and Senior Secondary Schools due to how far the village is from Farafenni Upper and Senior Secondary Schools. 

Speaking in an Interview with this Medium on Sunday, 21st July 2024, in Ballingho Village, Mama Sabally said "We are poor farmers and fishermen. We do not have the financial muscle to place our children with a Guardian in either Farafenni or in the Urban centre to further their studies in Upper and Senior Secondary schools".

She said when their children finish their primary education in the Village, they either look for a guardian for them in other villages with Upper and Senior Secondary Schools, including the township, or they drop out of school. 

She added that since there is hardship everywhere and people barely get their three square meals a day, it becomes difficult for families in Farafenni to accept children from them because that will be another mouth to feed and another financial burden. She said even if a guardian is available, the children find it difficult to adapt to new environments and they end up dropping out of school and back home to the village.

Mrs Sabally said this is what contributes to a high dropout rate of their children who finish their primary education and are sitting at home doing nothing. 
She added that the children cannot also walk 9 Kilometres from Ballingho to Farafenni every day to go to school. 
She said the roads are in very bad condition and isolated through the forest path.

She said the Primary School, including the ECD, has no furniture, and the building is old and dilapidated. She said there is no water in the school and that is why the school garden is not functional.

She said if they have a transport system in place that will take the children who finish their primary education and are enrolled in Upper and Senior Secondary Schools in Farafenni, to and from school every day, they will not drop out of school.

The women appealed for support to curb the dropout rates of their children. They appealed for tricycles to take their children to and from school in Farafenni when they are enrolled in Upper and Senior Secondary schools. They also appealed for water, staff quarters, and furniture for the school.

Author: Halimatou Ceesay 

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