Fatou Lamin Faye, Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education, has said that The Gambia government is highly committed to the cause of children and is making a heavy investment in education.

This statement was made by Madi Jatta, who represented SoS Faye, at the closing ceremony of a four- day training on child protection and corporal punishment for Gambia college’s final year students, organised by Child Protection Alliance (CPA), at the college campus in Brikama.

According to Madi Jatta, the government of The Gambia is relentless in its commitment to the cause of children and has seen education as the most important vehicle for the development of this country.

“You are the success stories. You work tirelessly in our fight for education and in turn, you have grown into admirable citizens that The Gambia can be proud to call their own,” he said.

He added that childhood is an important stage in every one’s life, noting that it is an age of physical and mental growth, when one is eager to become an adult and be part of the wider society.

“Many children face violence in form of punishments, abuse, neglect, at a tender age and physical and psychological punishment which are common form of violence many children suffer in their childhood,” Mr Jatta observed.

According to Jatta, physical and psychological punishment is a violation of a child’s fundamental right which needs to be respected as human beings. Children, he said, should be treated with dignity and preserve their physical integrity which are upheld in the universal declaration on human and peoples’ rights, the international covenant on civil and political rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

He described discipline as a sine-qua-non in every setting, in the home, school and work place, adding that it is necessary to educate and bring up children to protect them and guarantee their proper development.

He encouraged CPA to continue organising such a training to enhance teachers’ skills on positive methods of discipline, and further expressed hope that the participants will spread the message and the knowledge gained to their colleagues.