Africa-Press – Gambia. Essa Muhammad Jawara, the proprietor of Bilal Boarding School has appealed to the government to support his school in the wake of protracted difficulties hampering its operations.
Speaking to The Standard yesterday, Mr Jawara said owing to the ongoing difficulties, 23 years after the establishment of the school, they have been forced to introduce payment of school fees.
He said the school has a roll of over 1,000 students and over 50 staff members on salary.
“I built a mosque in the school but since then I could not even get good mats for the children to pray on. On Fridays, many people come to attend the jumuah congregation but they all pray on the floor like the children do on daily basis,” he lamented.
He said death does not give anyone notice and since he’s advancing in age, he does not want to be gone and leave his family saddled with debt. “That’s why I decided to call a meeting last month with the parents to explain my situation to them. At the meeting, I informed the parents that students would have to now pay 500 per month or pay D5,000 for 10 months. Some parents agreed, but others disagreed with the proposal,” he explained.
He appealed to the government through the ministries of education to consider the school for subvention and other aids.
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