Sylvia Duruson
In 2018, The Gambia saw one of its worst secondary school exam results, with over 96% of students failing to qualify for university. This sparked public outcry over the country’s education system. In response, Gambian entrepreneurs Ebrima Senghore and Baba Jaiteh developed the G-Quiz app in 2021 to help students prep for exams using past papers.
We provide tech solutions to help African students become self-sufficient learners,” said Senghore, G-Quiz CEO. He explained that most students lack access to quality textbooks and tech aids, with overcrowded classrooms and few chances to get questions answered. While initially focused on Gambia’s problems, they realised this was a regional issue that needed scalable solutions.
To address these challenges, the G-Quiz app allows students aged 15-19 to review past exam questions and answers from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). It also provides engaging features like video lessons, intelligent performance-tracking tools, and an AI study buddy. Given the strong initial response, expansion plans are underway to offer tertiary-level content, aiming to reach more.
Considering the Gambia’s small student population versus Nigeria and Ghana, G-Quiz aims to enter all Anglophone WAEC countries within two years. They have registered in Ghana and Nigeria and begun developing materials for the French Baccalaureate to expand into Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Tunisia afterwards.
G-Quiz is growing through partnerships. A memorandum with the Ministry of Education aids national curriculum content creation. Telecom deals like Africell provide users with free data access. The goal is to cover all secondary school subjects eventually.
With 10,000 users currently, the app touts a 94% exam pass rate. It emphasises data security and is available on iOS and Android, with a desktop version upcoming. All materials are free, developed by expert teachers, with some premium paid features planned.
Principal Musa Bah agrees systemic issues underlie Gambia’s education failures. “The government, WAEC, parents, teachers, and students are all responsible,” he said.
Teachers like Bah believe quality curriculum reforms are vital. Tech can help, too, but it takes a backseat to foundational fixes. While G-Quiz targets students’ practical exam prep needs, critics argue this band-aid approach ignores underlying causes.
Supporters counter that innovations like G-Quiz are pragmatically filling urgent gaps where government efforts fall short. With public schools overstretched, edtech access empowers youth to take charge of their learning. Students lacking textbooks or teacher attention can self-educate via apps.
Senghore stresses G-Quiz is a supplemental resource, not replacing school. But it does enable personalised, scalable learning in a constrained system. This assists motivated students without additional teacher workloads. The app’s exam pass rates and rapid growth signal its merits.
However, concerns remain around edtech dependency and student screen time. Does offloading education to apps absolve the government of training and equipping teachers properly? How will lower-income youth lacking smartphones access these innovations?
While opinions differ on tech’s role, parents welcome extra resources to boost their children’s prospects. Students seem enthused by digital aids making studying more engaging. As G-Quiz expands across West Africa, its model will be tested on a larger scale.
The founder’s aims are noble, but time will tell if edtech like G-Quiz moves the needle on entrenched education issues. Can technology be a stopgap or pathway to lasting solutions? The app’s partnerships and adaptive features look promising. But progress will likely require both tech boosts and deeper public school reforms.
