Realities of rural education through minister's eye

As told by Dr. John Muyingo

My recent visit to some districts opened my eyes to the challenges our education sector faces and the weaknesses in local governance that exacerbate them.

My working visits, a fortnight ago, took me to the districts of; Buikwe, Kibuku, Kapchorwa, Kween, Lira, Luweero, Mukono and Wakiso.

We have always read in annual reports and countless surveys about these problems: teacher/pupil absenteeism, high rates of school drop-out, defilement, high teacher-pupil ratio, inadequate personnel and lack of proper learning aides and scholastic materials.

Now that you agree with me that these teething troubles persist, the purpose of this article is not to tell you what you already know. Rather, I intend to show you how if each one of us in our various offices played their role effectively, we could eliminate or at least lessen their impact.

I began my tour of eight districts in Mukono. Just outside Kampala. I was struck by the fact that by 8:00am the District Education Officer (DEO) was not in his office! Neither were office attendants and secretaries. Instantly, my mind told me this is where the problem starts: If the DEO is known to arrive, say at noon, it means even his office staff will arrive just before noon or even after because now the officer will lack the moral authority to question his staff.

But that is not the problem… the bigger problem is that head teachers, teachers and even other stake holders in the sector who need services will be kept waiting at closed offices. Mukono is near Kampala and you would expect that someone would have a sense of guilt that the ministry is nearby. But Alas! Well, I demanded an explanation from the Chief Administrative Officer of Mukono and expect disciplinary action.
 

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The minister mingles with some of the teachers in one of the primary schools in eastern Uganda. (Credit: Nicholas Oneal)

My next stop was in Pallisa and Kibuku district, in the Cotton growing zone which was known as Bukedi in the immediate past. My visit coincided with celebrations to mark the day of the African Child. So, during my meeting with stakeholders in the district the discussions centered largely, but not entirely, on the plight of the “child”:  How to end teenage pregnancies, early marriages, managing menstruation at school and elimination of the rampant school drop-out.

I was informed that the biggest problem in the district, affecting especially the girl child and hence contributing to the high rate of school drop-out was defilement. Parents and grieving women pointed an accusing finger at police for “killing” cases reported.

It was alleged that the suspects “pay off police” and the prosecution suffers a miscarriage! This is as frustrating as it is annoying and needless to say emboldens the suspects and their criminal minded residents as no deterrent punishment is dispensed in the justice system.

I tasked the police to explain itself but  the best the representative of the District Police Commander could do convincingly was only to salute and promise me to follow up the said cases. The other side to this is that some parents have turned our little daughters into “trade items”.

They raise alarm when defilement is detected but quickly negotiate a bounty and let the suspect off the hook, if not to even hand over the baby girl! We are campaigning to have child mothers back to school, their parents are handing them over into marriage for a few pieces of silver and dowry!

Certainly, such parents have not heard about the mantra, “when you train a girl, you have trained a nation.” An educated mother lives her full potential, has knowledge about a balanced diet for the family, can space her children, knows her rights and becomes a valuable addition to her family.
 

Here, the minister speaks with one of the teachers after finding the school in a poor state of hygiene. (Credit: Nicholas Oneal)

In the mountainous districts of Kapchorwa and Kween district, the gaps and complacence of both the officials and staff were glaring: In the schools I visited, there was no evidence of effective teaching or learning taking place. In the fifth week of the term, for example, the head teacher of Kirwoko Primary School in Kween district told me that his teachers were not teaching because they were waiting for UNATU to call off the teachers strike that ended three weeks earlier.

The same head-teacher told me that for a full month, he could not access UPE funds because the second signatory to the accounts had gone out of the district. Imagine! Surely, does this need the Minister of State for Primary Education to visit for it to be solved? Where is the DEO? Where is the Inspector of Schools? Where is the district chairman? What sense of responsibility to the school does the second signatory have?

In the schools I visited, some teachers were seated outside during class time, while many others were in class without lesson plans. Mothers were breast feeding inside classrooms during class time! Carrying active mobile phones into class seemed like a MUST for all the teachers who owned one. The teacher’s code is clear and you, readers, know how a child’s attention span can be quickly disrupted – worsened by the awkward ring tones our phones now have! Organised chaos if you asked me! But on a serious note, someone was not doing his work!

Well, the absence of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) could have saved his job but I could not spare the DEO, Ms Joyce Kiboone. If this was not neglect of duty, what do you term it as? After all, the DEO and other officials in the department have been in acting capacity since the district was created in 2010. So I advised the CAO, with guidance of the law, to advertise the jobs and get suitable persons, who will serve the district better, appointed substantively.
 

During his visit, he took time to see how lessons are conducted. (Credit: Nicholas Oneal)

In Kween, Buikwe, Pallisa and Kibuku district, there are schools I visited where both the head teachers and their deputies were absent and nobody knew their whereabouts. Every school I visited had at least one teacher absent from duty. 

Note that these are some of the worst performing districts in national examinations. The children are not dull but like the Baganda say, babakonya (the teachers are getting them stunted)! Kirwoko Primary School in Kween district has never scored any first grade in Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) ever since it was founded in 1954

With this eye opener, I am going to expand and cast wide my net.

There is clear evidence that the Government has greatly contributed towards infrastructure development in schools. UPE funds are sent to schools at the beginning of the term, and staff salaries are paid by the end of every month.

The district leaders I met appreciated the government for the various contributions and they asked me to convey their request for more funding to the Education Sector.

True, there are challenges that could be blamed on government: Few classrooms, in some districts, ceiling of recruitment leading to a big teacher-pupils ratio, incessant grumbling over low pay leading to low morale and inadequate scholastic materials like textbooks and science equipment.

However, it’s my submission that we have failed on the simple basic ones:  Parents have stubbornly refused to pack lunch for their children. Government is meeting all costs in UPE schools and someone can just not provide a meal for their child! In one school in Kibuku district, out of the 1075 pupils, only 45 pupils take lunch while some few carried mangoes.
 

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Here, he has a chat with the teachers outside the classroom. (Credit: Nicholas Oneal)

To many parents, daily attendance of school is not something they treasure! Where did that parent, who knew each day a child missed, more marks were lost, migrate to? Pupils’ absenteeism has reached phenomenal levels! I am scared!

Parents let their children stay at home for any excuse; keep the baby, tend to the cows, scare birds in the grains/cereals garden, lumbe (funeral rites) or burial in a village even when these children are not clan heads! You arrive at the school and the enrolment declared is in thousands! However, an on spot check reveals a big difference! For example, during my tour, at Katirinyo Primary School in Kibuku district only 218 out of the 1075 children, attended school in the 5th week of the term.

I don’t know whether it’s the head teachers who have abdicated or it’s the parents who no longer care! At Kirwoko Primary School in Kween district, the classrooms and washrooms were extremely dirty. Instead of explaining himself, the head teacher Jackson Cheptyek only pleaded with me not to take any disciplinary action and promised to improve.

I appeal to elected district leaders, councilors, clergy, government officials and the police to each execute their roles so that we churn out quality human resource. When we lament about how bad someone we recruited or we have found at a service desk in a particular office, we need to look back and see how they were prepared for the world of works.

Depending on whether they got a full dose or not, that will show. And before we admire employees from other countries, we should first blame ourselves. Like someone said if its, “garbage in, it will be garbage out.”

But above all, like the late Reggae music maestro Lucky Dube sang, “Think about the children!”