NEWS
AND FEATURES ON THE SOLIDARITY 2000 CAMPAIGN IN COPENHAGEN
Uganda
Uganda:
Corruption, the Government's Biggest Failure
The Education Revolution
By Katy Salmon
KAMPALA, June 2000 (IPS) - The introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997 is undoubtedly one of President Yoweri Museveni's most successful and popular policies. Four children in every family, two of whom must be girls, are now entitled to free schooling.
UPE has revolutionised education in Uganda with enrolment surging from two to five million. This gives millions of poor families an unprecedented chance to lift themselves out of poverty. The government has set a goal of 100 per cent enrolment by 2003.
However, behind the fanfare, the policy has serious flaws. Critics blame Museveni's hijacking of UPE as a vote-winner in the 1996 elections for the flaws. In the early 1990s, the Kajubi Report on educational reform recommended gradual introduction of UPE but, "along came the presidential elections and he had to find something to say," says Charles Lwaga-Ntale of Development Research and Training.
First, the quality of education is deteriorating following the sudden surge in quantity. With such a rapid expansion in numbers, schools and teachers are hard-pressed to cope. The government and development partners have increased the number of teachers and classrooms through the Poverty Action Fund but the system is under strain.
"We are so many, we sit on the floor and teachers don't come regularly. We don't have textbooks to read. There is no water in school and we starve a lot," says one student. With UPE, students no longer have to pass end of year exams.
"They are not allowed to repeat," says Sister Susan Ndeez, headmistress of the private Ediofe Girls Secondary School in Arua, about 450 km north west of the capital. She says parents are also sending nursery-aged children to primary schools to save money.
Students are automatically moved up to the next class, regardless of whether they have gained the necessary knowledge. "It's not enough to say: 'Let's put all kids in school,' unless we look at the quality coming out," says Lwaga-Ntale.
He believes UPE is breeding further marginalisation as children with affluent parents are being taken out of the state system. "Only kids from posh private schools are able to land jobs with MTN or Radio One.
There is not even a one per cent probability that a kid going to a UPE school will make it to a top job," he says. Sustainability is another question. "For the time being, UPE is being bankrolled by donors. For how long?" asks Lwaga-Ntale. Secondary school administrators are nervous about the huge wave of students will qualify to enter these school in 2003. The government envisages a transition rate of 65 percent. "We are very worried," says Ndeez.
"When UPE reaches secondary, classes will expand. There will be no space because provision have not been made." Planning for the boom in secondary education needs to start now. Instead, the government is threatening to cut the number of secondary school teachers.
"They should extend their assistance to secondary schools but they are not interested in giving us a chance. They are not giving us any attention. They should be giving us development funds and that has not come," says Ndeez. Ndeez believes secondary schools are being sorely neglected. She receives Ush45 per student per day with which to feed and care for her 435 boarding school pupils. "So we are dependent on parents and they find it hard," she says.
Fees at Ediofe School have increased from Sh65,000 to Sh100,000 between 1996 and 2000. (Sh 1,600 equals US $1.00) Ndeez is also having difficulties paying for Sudanese refugee students under UNHCR's latest policy. There are over 120,000 Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda.
All children are entitled to free primary school education in the camps and the top students can attend national secondary schools. "NGOs don't give to national schools. They give to refugee schools. The refugee schools started getting better results than us. That started unrest," explains Ndeez.
Refugees are sent to national secondary schools to which UNHCR gives a loan in exchange for their education. UNHCR lent Ndeez Ush90 million for construction of a science laboratory. She is slowly paying it back by giving free education to 160 refugee students. So far, 80 have been admitted.
"Buying food and books becomes a real problem," she says. "It would have been better if they gave money because you can plan for it and you can follow priorities slowly," Despite the government's proven commitment to education, efforts to tie it in with employment are weak. Each year, 300,000 people enter the job market but the majority of graduates cannot even find a job.
"It's a big crisis," says Robert Ekongot of Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations. "There's no employment policy and there's little debate." Curriculum reform to equip students with more practical skills it desperately needed. Otherwise, warns Lwaga-Ntale, "we're going to continue producing people who are either unemployable or for whom there will be no jobs."
"The curriculum is mainly academic. It trains students to white collar jobs and those are not many. It's so exam oriented it does not give the chance to develop practical skills," says Ndeez.
The government appointed a Commissioner for vocational schools earlier this year and announced that all schools must have practical departments by 2003. But, with practical subjects being the most expensive, teachers do not see how they can comply with the new rules.