Covid-19 and Uganda’s education sector

Jul 28, 2021

The Government should stop disguising and proving to Ugandans as education being no longer essential. By manipulating the young generation in a way of disorganising their education, it is Uganda's future you are putting at risk.

Covid-19 and Uganda’s education sector

NewVision Reporter
Journalist @NewVision

By Ivan Nahurira Barekye and Godfrey Jethro Nsubuga

From March of 2020, Uganda's Education sector has been hit greatly by the Coronavirus aka COVID-19 and the sector seems to be collapsing in bits by bits.

To the dismay of the nationals, the top officials seem not bothered at all about the adverse effects the pandemic has posed on the sector.

We witnessed this in the first lockdown where billions of money were released to help in the long-distance learning. This included, among others, purchasing radios for all Ugandan families to enable affected children continue accessing education from the comfort of their homes. But the money instead vanished like a ghost and no accountability was taken.

To date, we are still waiting for the radios. Still, the government through the Ministry of Education and Sports engaged NCDC partnered with New Vision to print and distribute Home learning materials.

Yes, they did the work but the primary goal of reaching all the school-going children was not achieved. Especially those dwelling in rural areas as the report reads in the following paragraphs. This report shows the risk factors that are arising out of the closure of schools and the associated problems with long-distance learning.

Inequalities between rural and urban areas as far as digitalisation in concerned. This has affected distance learning to the dot.

In the age of Covid'19, long distance learning has become synonymous with technology, but there are gaps in access to technology among urban and rural areas, which perpetuates inequality. The source disparities between urban and rural areas are exacerbated by the pandemic, as rural areas are less likely to have access to the technology needed to successfully implement distance learning.

Technologies including radios, television and the Internet are some of the ways that states are choosing to broadcast educational lessons to reach a wider portion of the population.

A survey conducted by the National IT in 2017-2018 found that Ugandan homes had access to the following technologies; Radio (65.3%), Television set (21.8%), Household telephone (10.8%), Internet access (at least one person) (10.8%) and Computer (5.9%). However, the numbers are reflective of the entire population and do not take into account the difference between urban and rural areas.

For example, only approximately 8% of households in rural areas have access to national electricity grid compared to 71.2% in urban areas (Lighting Africa). Electricity is critically needed to power these technologies used for remote learning. This digital divide will have a larger impact in rural areas which will contribute to economic and educational inequality.

 

Covid-19 has now led to an absence of formal schooling which, coupled a lack of access to technology is resulting into a worrisome generation of Ugandan youth.

Few people question the economic benefit of education. As noted in the 2020 World Bank Study:  "(In Africa, each year of schooling raises average earnings by 11.3% for males and 14.5% for example." (The World Bank). 

Education is the main driver for moving people out of poverty, potentially "Improving the livelihoods of up to 420 million people in Africa" (GPE). The problem is Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates (49%) of children not being reached due to COVID-19, which results in many economic implementations (UNICEF).

While education provides many intellectual and financial benefits to society, a school also serves as a place where children become susceptible to many environmental risk factors that may stunt their development.

This is especially true for children living in rural setting where the "Digital Divide" makes virtual education nearly impossible to access. With "Over 15 million children out of school as a result of COVID-19," a sustainable solution that provides children with the necessary environment for healthy development is needed.

This generation of young people who are losing access to education will become the professionals of the future who drive and make-up the economy. The technology gap, as well as the absence of other vital social factors school provides, could result into various mental health issues in the population (UNESCO).

In order to mitigate the rise of these disorders in Ugandan youth, an action plan must be implemented on a community level to ensure structure and support rather than mere locking down of learning institutions.

Importance of school in facilitating the development of social and mental health

 In a recent statement, the American Academy of Paediatrics wrote: "Children get much more than academics at school. They also learn social and emotional skills at school, get healthy meals and exercise, mental health support and other services." Although this statement reflects the US educational system, these aspects of school are generalisable across cultures and socio-economic differences.

School impacts many aspects of social, emotional and physical development that are easy to overlook. Socially, school provides a community that, "Foster(s) a supportive environment that promotes strong relationship among staff, students and families."

These relationships create the basis of support systems for the child and provide a "Bedrock for learning". Emotionally, students develop mindsets that help them manage stress, while boosting other prosocial behaviours like empathy, facilitated by a healthy teacher-student relationship.

Effective school environment also provides space where, " Children can build skills and awareness work with emotions in themselves and their relationships." In terms of physical development, school has been a source of nutrition for those in underserved communities around the world.

Most notably, the World Food Program (WFP) has provided food to children in schools located in Karamoja, Uganda since the 1980s. Nutrition, along with social and emotional skills, play a vital role in supporting brain development early in life. In addition to lowering rates of malnutrition, it's a way of keeping children in school. Since the launch of the foundation' grant, the number of girls attending school in Karamoja has increased to 47%. (WFP)

Absence of learning can result in negative social and mental health outcomes.

Now that the positive aspects of schooling have been analysed, this section will discuss adverse impacts as a result of the absence of a schooling environment. Due to COVID-19, country wide school closures in Uganda have threatened the social and mental health of the youth. Some notable problems are lack of nutrition and social isolation.

Lack of nutrition poses many risks to healthy development. Similar to many countries in the world, in Uganda food is often supplied to children while they are at school, in fact, since 1980s, the World Food Programme (WFP) Has provided school meals in Karamoja. These meals encourage children to enrol in and finish school.

Since the pandemic hit, the WFP has provided "Take home rations" to some children, however, this programme is evidence that access to nutrition is being threatened. Findings from Mosh & Wolfe (2010) suggest lack of nutrition in childhood enhance risk factors for Intellectual Disability (ID) and Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity (ADHD). In terms of mental health, Loades et al. (2020) conducted a study on children and adolescents in isolation as a result of COVID-19 and found data that suggests children are, "More likely to experience high rates of depression and most like anxiety."

In another finding, the Longitudinal significance of social isolation is noted by Matthews et al. (2015) who found data that suggests, "Social isolation and mental health problems co-occur in early childhood" and children who "Exhibit problematic behaviour may struggle to cope with social challenges that accompany their progression" throughout childhood.

In addition to losing the physical and social benefits of schooling environment, other risk factors are likely to be heightened. These risk factors include the economic and sexual vulnerability of young women. Economic exploitation of young children has grown in the absence of school.

According to Heifer International's recent Ugandan COVID-19 impact Report, the pandemic has resulted in more than 87% of farmers surveyed reporting that their income has been cut in half since March of 2020. This financial strain on families could lead to school-age children, especially girls, being forced to stay home to work to help support their families.

With decreasing income and a lack of structure, a negative feedback loop is created as young people are now moving towards agriculture as a way to provide for their families. While organizations have been encouraging youth to embrace agriculture as a source of income, young women are among the most vulnerable populations in Uganda with no access to health care and social security. While schooling does not provide those services, education and structured environment will result in long-term economic advantages.

Sexual vulnerability of women has plagued Uganda for decades and is only worsening in the face of COVID-19. Stephan Wandu Bimo, the cofounder of I CAN, a refugee led community organisation notes the growing number of cases involving psychological trauma as a result of COVID-19.

His fears are noted when he says, “If children are not provided with a routine of learning at home to replace school, they will face increased protection risks such as physical and sexual abuse... Child marriage and early pregnancy."

Stephan Wandu notes that the long-term effects of school closures slating, "I fear that Uganda will register its highest rates of school primary and secondary school dropouts and teenage child marriages in 2020 and 2021.

There will also be additional burden on girls, who at home often absorb extra work of caring for other children and are more exposed to domestic violence." Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are two mental health disorders that have been found to result from physical or sexual abuse as a child. (Mosh & Wolfe, 2010). Although anecdotally based, Stephan provides a poignant reminder of the reality many Ugandans are live in at the hands of a government that seems to have lost track and how a structured environment helps against those potential risks.

Many of the disorders listed as a result of closures have poor prognosis, if not effectively treated. (Mosh & Wolfe, 2010). Mood disorders(MDD), neurological disorders (ADHD), and trauma disorders (PTSD) all require early intervention and extensive treatment which can not be provided on a large scale due to the lack of infrastructure in Uganda. In order to address this gap, an actionable solution not mere verbal words will help provide protective factors to children and effective in-person therapy to those who require it, teachers inclusive.

Conclusion

The Government should stop disguising and proving to Ugandans as education being no longer essential. By manipulating the young generation in a way of disorganising their education, it is Uganda's future you are putting at risk. A disorganised education handled by a tired, disgruntled, and hopeless teacher to a child with a disorganised brain due to mental and physical trauma equals hell on earth. We losing a generation of professional teachers and a broad day massacre of Uganda's future, if we continue pushing education to the trash cans.

The article was co-written by Ivan Nahurira Barekye and Godfrey Jethro Nsubuga

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