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The government has received plaudits for increasing enrollment rates of girls in school.

As a result, it is helping to bridge the gender parity gap and correct structural hurdles that have in the past left females at a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts in society.

"I am happy at the consistent increase of female graduates. For example, from 2020 to date, we have had at least a 20 percent increase in the girl child graduating, specifically from Makerere University," said Sarah Bireete, who is the executive director of Centre for Constitutional Governance and chairperson of East and Horn of Africa Elections Observers Network.

"That is good and it shows progress."

She was speaking in Kampala on a local radio talk show on Saturday.

Noting that 53 percent of girls graduated at Makerere University this week against 47 percent of boys, Bireete said: "We are beginning to see the results of affirmative action in our processes."

She said there is also a need to work on gender parity, noting that Uganda is still behind globally.

Affirmative action is defined as a set of procedures designed to eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future.

Gender parity means that each gender is represented equally in all sectors of government in terms of jobs.

"We started well (on gender parity) but we are losing track. That is the feedback I can give the government," she said.

'Redesign courses' 

Bireete said the government also needs to begin looking at improving the quality of education, adding that Uganda is registering progress in economic growth, but it continues to grapple with unemployment because those coming through don't have enough employable skills.

Currently, jobs created by the country stand at only a third of a total 700,000 graduates that join the job market every year, leaving a deficit of about 462,000, she said.

"Some scholars have said we need to redesign the courses or tertiary institutions."

She said the worryingly increasing number of unemployed partly explains why Uganda is becoming "a centre of exporting graduates to the Middle East" to work in low-skilled jobs. 

"We need to have an economy that can absorb our skilled labour force of young people. For me, that is my worry, and I hope the actors can look at changes of revamping our higher education to make sure it is applicable and is absorbable to our job market."