THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA’S COMBINED REPORT ON THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN & PEOPLES’ RIGHTS & INITIAL REPORT ON THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA ministerial mandates, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between MoBSE and MoHERST has been agreed on to partner together in the delivery of education and training using the sector-wide approach. The Government also invests in capacity building of the educators from basic level to tertiary level of education both within the country and overseas with the objective of providing valuable, high quality education for all. These education reforms are in accordance with the joint education sector strategic plan (2013 – 2022) to reduce the rate of illiteracy by 50% by 2015 and the Dakar Framework for Action, which promotes the creation of a literate society sufficient to contribute to the socio-economic advancement of the population. From the 1990s to date, tertiary and higher education in The Gambia has experienced a rapid expansion as a result of persistent increase in demand. This is happening at a time of a global economic downturn which, inevitably, has some negative impacts on the economic performance of the country and, consequently, on the achievement of the objectives of tertiary and higher education. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Government’s budgetary allocation for tertiary and higher education has not grown in line with enrolments. The Government of The Gambia supports a culturally diverse and socially cohesive nation, and believes that all Gambians, regardless of their cultural, linguistic, religious and physical background, should be given every opportunity to participate fully in the development of the country. The Gambia is home to over 220,000 young people aged between 18 and 25 years. The majority of these youths have high educational aspirations, although these do not always match the outcomes. While some of them experience a smooth pathway into higher education, many do not realise their dreams, thus limiting their opportunities to further education and training. The rapid increase in the number and variety of tertiary education institutions and the massive increase of enrolment levels remain a major challenge to tertiary and higher education policymakers. Fixing The Gambia’s education system to meet the needs of under-educated youth and helping the country produce a well-educated and skilled citizenry and workforce will require a simultaneous strengthening of this level of education. The solution lies in equity-focused reforms of both systems, with specific attention to the relationships and transitions between the educational institutions that constitute these important systems. Fortunately, there are a number of institutions uniquely positioned to address the preparation of this group and to move them to acquire academic and vocational qualifications. By virtue of the location of most tertiary and higher education institutions in the Greater Banjul Area, students living in this area have a greater chance of accessing tertiary and higher education. Furthermore, 84