Gambia Teachers Union Women's Wing (GTUWW) on Friday organised Bantaba for senior and Upper Basic Schools, at a programme held at the GTUWW hall.

The programme brought together ten schools in the Greater Banjul Area and its main objectives of the Bantaba is to highlight barriers to life skills and to suggest alternative means of overcoming them. He noted that empowering students, by raising their confidence and performance, will help to address life skills identify, understand and appreciate the role played by different stakeholders in education.

In her welcoming remarks, Janet Mansal, GTUWW desk officer, said the Gambia Teachers Union,(GTU) in committed to investing energy and resources to the attainment of quality education for all. The leadership did not loose sight of crucial role of the students. According to Madam Mansal as a result, the union expanded the mandate of its female wing so as to include the general welfare of students particularly girls, on issues affecting their development and growth.

She also mentioned that the problems range from lack of confidence, inability to make proper decisions, lack of assertiveness and proper negotiation skills. She also added it is against this background that the GTUWW is organising a Bantaba for students from Upper and Senior secondary schools with the view to discuss, identify and help them develop life skills to overcome the barriers mentioned above.

Fatou Jobe-Mboob, GTUWW regional secretary for region one, said that this Bantaba constitutes a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas, as sharing information with others who are less fortunate to attend this programme. And I hope each and everyone of you will go home with something, which you should not keep it in ourselves but to spread it to others For her part, Rohey Sillah, the first female vice- president, also stated that this is an event illustrates unity amongst members of the GTUWW.

She also expressed the organisation commitment to foster good relationship with students. ''We care a lot about students,'' she added. She further pointed out that the process of empowering students enable them to play a key role in such occasion. ''I hope that the participants will interact fully amongst themselves.  I am sure they'll in turn serve as facilitators in their own ways by disseminating information, knowledge  and skills they received from this kind of forum.