5 The Gambia's NYSS Partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The paper examines the dynamics of The Gambian National Youth Service Scheme (NYSS) founded in 1996 through the efforts of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme. Though modeled after the NYSC, it has ventured into things NYSC has not. One of these was its most recent partnership with the IOM to curb recurrent illicit migration of The Gambian youths. The questions are, has this aspect of Nigeria-The Gambia history been documented? Has Nigerian Scheme gone into partnership with the IOM in the enterprise like The Gambian counterpart? Since its establishment, how many times has NYSC adjusted to changing realities? In what theoretical contexts could one frame the argument of the NYSS/ IOM partnership and what lessons does that holds for NYSC and similar youths’ services in Africa in the century? In addressing the problem, the paper adopts the qualitative method of historical research and gleans on evidence from diverse sources. It foregrounds its argument on the ideas of the National Youth Service as “Moral Equivalent of War”, “Service- Learning” and “A Way of Strengthening Ties among the People of the World” espoused by William James, John Dewey, and Rosenstock-Huessy. It concludes by charging NYSC and similar services to adjust to meet the current challenges of African youth and society

Female and Male Mentors Views and Practices About Gender Equality

Ever persistent gender inequalities in education have been subject of researches, scholarly discussion, and educational reforms in Pakistan for past decade. Education reforms, in particular, have explored possible impact of improved policy and practice on girls and boys opportunities of schooling. AKU-IED's Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan Project (STEP, 2008-2016) was one such reform effort, which aimed at integrating gender equality perspective in its interventions around improving the quality of delivery of primary and elementary education in the selected districts of Sindh and Baluchistan. The Cluster-Based Mentoring Programme (CBMP) was one of STEP's flagship interventions, which allowed a group of teacher mentors to help these mentee teachers of their respective clusters in improving their teaching practice. Besides improvement in teaching pedagogies and content knowledge, these mentors also focused on developing their mentee teachers' understanding of gender based inequalities in education and in society. Since these mentors played a forefront role in promoting gender equality in schools, it was important to develop insights into these individuals' own understanding of gender equality. This particular study, hence, aimed to investigate views and practices of two male and female mentors from a district in Sindh about gender equality. For this purpose, a case study method within the qualitative research paradigm was undertaken. The data were collected through observations of workshops and follow up visits of mentors, post-observation discussions, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The findings of the study indicate that both these male and female mentor had clarity on gender concepts. However, the application of these concepts in their work with mentee teachers reflected their struggle to maintain a balance between their theoretical positions i.e. gender equality and the socially approved conduct in local patriarchal context. The study further revealed that the female mentor faced consistent resistance from male mentee teachers who particularly contested the notion of gender equality. At times, these male mentees' participation in the workshops also indicated their disapproval of a female mentor assuming a position of a more knowledgeable person. The findings also suggest that the male mentor engaged male and female mentee teachers who generally followed his instructions throughout. The study showed that while both mentors were able to communicate different dimensions of gender equality through their work with mentors, their relationship with mentee teachers as well as their overall interactions with them were informed by the expectations of local patriarchal culture. The study supports the idea that mentors'