FAWE Uganda rallies for funding to support Girls in Science

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The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Uganda Chapter has reiterated the urgency to locally raise funds for education support, especially for girl children pursuing science courses.

According to Susan Opok Tumusiime, the Executive Director, there is a need to support the government’s push for science education as well as for the education of the girl child, hence the 20K for Transformation Initiative.

She made the call during FAWE Uganda’s commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science which globally is celebrated on February 11.

This year's theme was “Synergizing AI, Social Science, STEM, and Finance: Building Inclusive Futures for Women and Girls,” which underscores the need for cross-disciplinary approaches to equity.

She explained that for more than 20 years, the government has put in initiatives at all levels of education to ensure higher school enrollment and completion rates, with a special focus on girls.

However, while this has led to increased numbers, there are many who do not complete the education cycle due to various factors, especially socioeconomic, where, with the limited resources available, parents prioritize the boy child.

She says that as science is now a global agenda, the focus should not only be on school dropouts, but ensuring that girls are supported to increase the number of females in the fields.

“FAWE Uganda is invigorating the call for financial and other support for girls in STEM through opportunities to further their education and learning. According to its records, FAWE Uganda has to-date provided over 20,000 scholarships, empowering young people through education.

Our broader impact includes reaching 120,000 young people through education programmes and protection initiatives across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, with an 80:20 ratio of girls to boys in our scholarship programs,” Tumusiime noted.

Grace Achire, FAWE Uganda board member says the 20K initiative seeks transformation drive, to support disadvantaged girls that keeps growing as the population of children expands.

This is straining the current sources of finances which has mainly included the Mastercard Foundation for all the years, but also individuals outside the country.

“Since its launch, this initiative has raised more than sh30m to cover school fees for disadvantaged girls, enabling at least 20 girls to complete secondary education and sit for national exams. The worry is that globally, international financing is getting scarce hence the need for increased sourcing locally,” Achie stated.

FAWE Uganda is also implementing the Higher Education Access Program (HEAP). a program that seeks to equip disadvantaged girls with skills and resources for higher education, boosting enrolment and career readiness.

Through HEAP, FAWE Uganda has provided over 1,000 girls with bursaries, with 944 currently pursuing degrees and Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) diplomas.

“Senior 1 and Senior 5 students are reporting to school after the holiday, but many high-performing disadvantaged girls cannot progress due to the lack of school fees and the necessary resources to support their education.”

Baaya Sonia Dorothy, an engineer in horology and hydraulics sciences, was a pioneer of the FAWE Higher Education Certificate which is aimed at helping especially rural girls who have fallen short of the University cutoff points, to ready them for university.

She says through the program, she was able to join Busitema University and study Physics, Economics and Engineering combination.