About Mr John.S.A.Kemokai
I am a very dynamic individual who passionately believes in exploring new ideas. I am a Sierra Leonean living in The Gambia. I was born in Jormu Kafeibu, Kenema District. I had my early education in Holy Ghost Secondary School in Segbwema. On successful completion of my secondary school education, I proceeded to Bo Teachers College where I did my Teachers Certificate. On completion of my study in 1974, I took up a teaching appointment at St Anthony’s Primary School in Freetown. After four years of teaching at St Anthony’s Primary School, I proceeded to Milton Margai Teachers College of education where I studied Business Management. I successfully completed my studies and graduated with Higher Teachers Certificate (Secondary) in 1981. I then took up another teaching appointment at Harford School for Girls in Moyamba in 1981 where I taught until 1885 when I proceeded to Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone for further studies. At Fourah Bay College, I studied Accountancy and in 1991, I graduated with B.Sc (Hons) Accounting.
On completion of my studies at Fourah College in 1991, I was employed by Nusrat High School in The Gambia as expatriate teacher. On joining the teaching staff of Nusrat High School in 1991, I quickly created positive impact in teaching Accounting and Management and enforcing discipline in the school. In 1992, I was appointed Senior Master in charge of Department of Commercial Studies. My dynamic teaching of Financial Accounting and Principles of Cost Accounting from 1991 onwards made my students achieve excellent results in the General Certificate of Education both at GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC).
Because of my dedication to teaching and learning and enforcement of discipline in the school, I was promoted to the rank of supervisor of the Afternoon shift in 2000. In that same year, the Principal, Mr Karamo S Bojang and I worked hard to establish the Business Professional Training unit of the school – Nusrat Management and Accountancy Training Centre – of which I became the Director of Studies.
After my dynamic teaching at Nusrat Senior Secondary School for twenty-eight years, I was promoted to the position of Vice Principal in September, 2019. Nusrat High School is the best public high school in The Gambia. It is a high school that every parent dreams of their school-going children to be able to gain admission into. It is now completely a tuition-free high school because the government of The Gambia pays all fees for students who are enrolled in Nusrat High School. For a student to be enrolled in Nusrat High School, you must achieve good results in your Junior High School exam. The community of Bundung and its environ are poor communities and during my long teaching career at Nusrat Senior Secondary School, I came to observe that most children living and attending schools in the Bundung community and its environment, where Nusrat Senior Secondary School is located, are not able to achieve the entry requirements to gain admission into Nusrat Secondary School on completion of their Junior High School education. This has been a burden in my heart for a long time which I shared with my wife who is also a professional teacher. We decided to establish a school in Bundung community and its environ that will adequately prepare children in our communities who will be able to achieve the entry requirements for Nusrat Senior Secondary School. This burden in my heart became a vision and that is what gave birth to Brimawa Day Care and Nursery School in 2008. Brimawa Day Care and Nursery school was later upgraded by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education to Brimawa Lower Basic School in 2013 and Brimawa Upper Basic School in 2015 respectively. Currently, the school is doing well and will certainly continue to do well in future. In 2018, the first batch of Brimawa Upper Basic School graduates who wrote and passed the Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examination (GABECE) were able to achieve the necessary entry requirements and were enrolled in Nusrat Senior Secondary School. It is gratifying to note that after 2018, we are recording steady increase of our Upper Basic School graduates gaining admission into Nusrat Senior School on completion of their Upper Basic School education. We give thanks and glory to God for this achievement.
About Mrs Isatu Jah Kemokai
I am Mrs Isatu Jah Kemokai. I am a Sierra Leonean. I did all my schooling in Sierra Leone. I had my secondary school education in Centennial Secondary School in Mattru Jong in Bonthe District. On my successful completion of my secondary school education, I proceeded to Port Loko Teachers College in 1979 where I attained the Teachers Certificate in Nursery and Infant Education in 1982. I then joined the teaching staff of the United Methodist Church School in Bonthe. After teaching for three years, I decided to pursue Higher Teachers Certificate (Primary) at Port Lokko Teachers College. On successful completion of my study, I graduated with Higher Teachers Certificate (Primary) and taught at June Hartraft Memorial School, Moyamba for three years.
I have great passion for education. My passion inspired me to study further at Milton Margai Teachers College where I graduated with Higher Teachers Certificate (Secondary). I taught at Bonthe Secondary School until 1992 when I decided to join my husband in The Gambia.
In The Gambia, I taught at St Joseph’s Ex-pupils School until 2002 when I joined the teaching staff of Marina International School, Bakau New Town, The Gambia. Due to my commitment to work and passion for children, I was appointed Assistant Year Head in the Foundation Department with a scholarship to attend AISA conference in Dakar, Senegal. At Marina International School, I had a feel of every class in the Junior School section. With the passion for education in me, it was while I was in Marina School that I decided to assist my husband to establish our own school – Brimawa Day Care and Nursery School- in The Gambia in 2008. I was full of confidence that since my husband and I have taught for more than three decades, establishing a school on our own was the best way to give opportunities to young ones in our communities. I then retired from Marina International School in July, 2015 and joined Brimawa School to give a helping hand. My presence at Brimawa School as Human and Academic Resource person has created great and positive impact on our school.