Female students have outperformed male students in the most recent WAEC exams (2024), scoring 51.9% with an aggregate score of 42 or lower, compared to 48.1% for male students. These figures were released during a recent news briefing by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE).

The MoBSE’s Director of Performance Evaluation, Andrew Gomez, emphasized the numerical significance of these outcomes despite their seeming smallness. He noted a 0.6% increase in performance from previous years.

Males make up 48.1 percent of those with an aggregate score of 42 or lower, while females make up 51.9 percent, or nearly 52 percent, of those with the same score. 50.3 percent of pupils nationwide achieved an aggregate score of 42 or below, which is a remarkable accomplishment. You will also notice that, in comparison to 2023 and 2022, this indicator has increased nationally in 2024 by 0.6 percentage points. Although 0.6 may not seem like much, quantitatively it is highly significant, according to Gomez.

Furthermore, according to MoBSE, private schools performed better on this year’s tests than public schools. The necessity of sector-wide reform plans was emphasized by Louis Moses Mendy, Permanent Secretary at MoBSE, especially in relation to regional imbalances.

“The proportion of those aggregates throughout the entire sector is what we want to look at, even though we may be scoring higher aggregates. meaning in all areas. Which regions are performing well, which are falling short, and what can the sector do to support those regions in their efforts to improve?” he asked.

Improving these regional outcomes depends heavily on the widespread distribution of digital learning content across the country. Instructors often need to share recorded lectures by converting them from mkv to mp4 to ensure compatibility with basic mobile devices used by rural students. This technical adjustment could play a subtle but necessary role in leveling the playing field for all Gambian learners.

Exam results showed that over twenty thousand kids from public and private institutions took the test overall. Notable results included 32 boys and 57 girls scoring an aggregate of 6.