GAMBIA HIGH SCHOOL IS DILAPIDATED: GOVERNMENT AND ALUMNI MUST COME TO ITS RESCUE

By Pappa Njie

Gambia High School is perhaps one of the finest schools The Gambia has ever produced. Before the emergence of institutions such as Marina International School, Ndow’s Comprehensive and many of the private schools we know today, few schools in the country could square up to Gambia High School. Whether in academics, sports or extracurricular activities, GHS was a name associated with excellence.

There was a time when simply gaining admission into Gambia High School was itself a source of pride. Many pupils sitting the Common Entrance Examination placed GHS among their preferred choices, but getting in was never guaranteed. Competition was intense, the cut-off marks were high, and many brilliant pupils who dreamed of attending the school simply could not make the grade.

For those of us fortunate enough to attend GHS, there was something special about saying, “I go to Gambia High School.”

I consider myself lucky because, interestingly, GHS was not even my original choice. When I sat my examination, my parents had selected Armitage High School for me. However, after I came out first in my school, my then principal, Mr Ebrima O. Sanneh, strongly insisted that I should attend Gambia High School instead.

So off I went to GHS for admission.

I can still remember the scene as though it happened yesterday. The queue stretched from the principal’s office towards the science laboratories. Parents and students were everywhere. People were pushing, squeezing through the crowd and doing everything possible to secure admission for their children. In fact, tempers nearly boiled over. That was how desperately people wanted a place at Gambia High School.

To cut a long story short, I secured admission, and the following Monday I reported to GHS instead of heading to Armitage.

Then something rather unusual happened.

I initially entered as a science student, but within about three days I realised that physics and I were not going to become good friends. So I moved to Commerce. Unfortunately, Commerce was not exactly my cup of tea either. Further Mathematics gave me trouble, and Accounting was another battle altogether.

Within days, I moved again, this time to Pure Arts. But that did not satisfy me either because my family had always imagined that I would become either an accountant or a scientist, and Pure Arts offered little of what I thought I wanted at the time apart from General Science.

So I moved yet again, this time to Mixed Arts, where I could combine subjects from different areas. That was when the principal caught up with me.

Anyone who had the opportunity to interact with the late Rev. Willie Carr will remember his wonderful sense of humour. He walked into the class, spotted me and asked what on earth I was doing there. I explained that I had been moving from one stream to another because the previous classes did not offer exactly what I was looking for.

He listened and then gave me what amounted to a final warning. This was my last chance. If he caught me switching classes again, he joked that he might switch me straight out of the school. That was Gambia High School.

Over the years, I made many friends among both teachers and students. By the time I graduated, leaving GHS was genuinely difficult. My family home in Banjul was only about a seven-minute walk from the school, so even after graduation I would regularly stop by just to greet former teachers and see familiar faces.

Later, when I relocated to the Kombos, there was still something emotional about entering Banjul and seeing the school buildings. Just catching sight of Gambia High School brought back memories of classrooms, teachers, friendships, laughter and those formative years that helped shape many of us.

But looking at the photographs recently shared by GHS alumnus Alieu Gaye, I am not sure I would feel the same joy if I walked through those grounds today.

The pictures are heartbreaking. They appear to show ageing buildings with badly deteriorated surfaces, damaged roofing, overgrown surroundings, worn-out furniture and facilities that seem to have been neglected for far too long. One photograph of what appears to be a science laboratory is particularly troubling. Equipment, bottles, boxes and old furniture are crowded together in surroundings that hardly resemble the laboratory environment many would expect from one of the country’s historically important schools.

This is Gambia High School. How did we allow an institution with such a proud history to reach this condition?

The photographs should concern not only the government but every former student who once walked through those gates. Thousands of Gambians have passed through GHS and gone on to become teachers, doctors, lawyers, civil servants, academics, businesspeople, politicians, journalists, military officers and professionals across the world.

Surely, a school that contributed so much to producing generations of Gambians deserves better than crumbling walls, ageing desks and neglected facilities.

Government must take the lead. Education is a public responsibility, and restoring a historic public school should not depend entirely on charity. The relevant authorities should conduct a comprehensive assessment of the campus and determine what needs immediate repair, what must be replaced and what requires complete reconstruction.

But former students should also step forward. GHS alumni are scattered across The Gambia, Europe, America and elsewhere. If government funding alone cannot restore the school quickly enough, then perhaps it is time for the alumni association and school authorities to establish a transparent restoration fund. Whether through an organised fundraising campaign, an online platform or direct contributions, former students and well-wishers could help rehabilitate classrooms, laboratories, furniture, sanitation facilities and other essential infrastructure.

It does not require one wealthy individual writing an enormous cheque. A thousand former students contributing modest amounts can collectively make an enormous difference.

More importantly, any such effort must be transparent. Alumni and donors should know exactly how much is raised, where the money goes and what work has been completed. Restoration should not become another project where people contribute enthusiastically only to wonder later what happened to their money.

Gambia High School does not belong only to those currently studying there. It belongs to generations.

Those old buildings carry memories. Those classrooms have heard the voices of thousands of young Gambians dreaming about their futures. Those laboratories, playing fields and corridors helped shape people who today serve this country in almost every profession imaginable.

We should not wait until portions of the school become completely unusable before acting.

The photographs should serve as a wake-up call.

Government must act. Alumni must organise. Businesses and well-wishers should help where they can.

Gambia High School gave many of us an education, friendships and memories that have lasted a lifetime. Perhaps now it is our turn to give something back.

A great school should never be allowed to become merely a great memory.

Photos by Alieu Momodou Gaye

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