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May 23, 2012

NJCTL Collaborator Wins Prestigious Award from World Bank

NJCTL Collaborator Wins Prestigious Award from World Bank

The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning offered its congratulations today to Baboucarr Bouy, the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education of The Gambia. Bouy was awarded by World Bank earlier this month with the 2012 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service.

The first Gambian to win the prestigious award, Bouy was recognized for his efforts to improve the quality of education in The Gambia.

Bouy’s “leadership, commitment and integrity are essential to furthering development and poverty reduction,” said Otaviano Canuto, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM).

"Ultimately it is institutions and policies that determine a country's future, but also the personal dedication of the leaders, and Mr. Bouy exemplifies that," said Colin Bruce, Director of Strategy and Operations for the Africa Region of the World Bank.

Bouy, who began working in education in the Eighties, has a wide range of accomplishments. His achievements include finding solutions as a result of  analysis and evidence-based research; the introduction of a performance management system with standards for staff --from education officers to classroom teachers; conditional cash transfers to teachers of religious schools to allow their pupils to benefit from numeracy and literacy courses; strong emphasis on measuring learning with a focused attention on reading fluency; and creating a fund with his own savings together with his colleagues to assist poor families in need to send their children to school.

Bouy has been working closely with the Center for Teaching and Learning to implement the Center’s Progressive Science Initiative (PSI) and Progressive Mathematics Initiative (PMI) throughout his home country.

“He has been a strong advocate of PSI-PMI because he understands how it has the potential to fundamentally change the nature the future of the Gambia through high quality math and science education,” said Bob Goodman, the executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Bouy recently toured classrooms New Jersey to witness how PSI is being used in the classroom at Malcolm X. Shabazz High School and Technology High School in Newark, where number of students taking and passing AP Physics classes has risen dramatically since PSI was introduced.

Download this press release.

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