Finance minister urges on Early education
Jul 26, 2009
THE high dropout rate among primary school pupils is a result of their poor upbringing, the finance minister, Syda Bbumba, has said.
By Patrick Jaramogi
THE high dropout rate among primary school pupils is a result of their poor upbringing, the finance minister, Syda Bbumba, has said.
Speaking during celebrations to mark 25 years of Madrasa Early Childhood Education programme at Protea Hotel in Kampala last week, Bbumba noted that early childhood education was a life-long investment that lays a strong foundation to build on.
She explained that investing in early childhood education gives the child life-long skills and reduces the cost of education.
“When Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme was launched in 1997, many doubted it, saying it was a white elephant. We started with 2.5 million children and today we have 7.8 million,†she stated.
Nazim Mohammed, the chairman of Madrasa in Uganda, said schools supported by the Aga Khan Foundation, were seeking to help parents and communities provide early education to their children.
“In Uganda the Madrasa programme has supported over 200 communities, over 50,000 children and trained over 400 teachers,†he noted.
He said the centre was taking care of the most needy children in society.
“It is not only about academic learning, but about a holistic development of the child,†he explained.
According to statistics, at least 60% of the pupils in the UPE programme, especially girls, drop out of school before reaching Primary Seven.
THE high dropout rate among primary school pupils is a result of their poor upbringing, the finance minister, Syda Bbumba, has said.
Speaking during celebrations to mark 25 years of Madrasa Early Childhood Education programme at Protea Hotel in Kampala last week, Bbumba noted that early childhood education was a life-long investment that lays a strong foundation to build on.
She explained that investing in early childhood education gives the child life-long skills and reduces the cost of education.
“When Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme was launched in 1997, many doubted it, saying it was a white elephant. We started with 2.5 million children and today we have 7.8 million,†she stated.
Nazim Mohammed, the chairman of Madrasa in Uganda, said schools supported by the Aga Khan Foundation, were seeking to help parents and communities provide early education to their children.
“In Uganda the Madrasa programme has supported over 200 communities, over 50,000 children and trained over 400 teachers,†he noted.
He said the centre was taking care of the most needy children in society.
“It is not only about academic learning, but about a holistic development of the child,†he explained.
According to statistics, at least 60% of the pupils in the UPE programme, especially girls, drop out of school before reaching Primary Seven.