Review UPE to get quality education

Dec 21, 2009

<b>By Susan Namara</b><br><br>As Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate the existence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that came into force in 1990, it is important to reflect on the challenges our children have endured ove

By Susan Namara

As Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate the existence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that came into force in 1990, it is important to reflect on the challenges our children have endured over the years. Children’s rights have faced a number of challenges in Uganda especially in war-ravaged areas.

Many of these children have not had a chance to enjoy their rights and have been victims of both socio-economic and political upheavals this country has endured.

For as long as the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been in place, children in northern Uganda have not benefited from it because of the Lord’s Resistance Army — one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Thanks to international guiding principles that have set benchmarks for signatories to cause the existence of legal frameworks, policies and programmes to mainstream children’s rights. As such our national agenda has pushed for the recognition of many rights of children.

It is a good sign when Uganda has accepted most children rights especially the right to education. This right is embedded in the United Nation’s new global partnerships under the Millennium Development Goals — a commitment with timebound targets to be realised by 2015 like the Universal Primary Education (UPE). There is no doubt that since 1997 when UPE was first introduced, it has led to gross enrolment rates. As such, there has been an increase in the number of schools over the years although the drop out rate is threatening the success of the programme.

According to the 2008/09 financial year under pre-primary and primary sub-sector, enrolment increased to 7.5 million pupils at a net enrolment ratio of 93.3%.

The early childhood development policy was also developed to guide the delivery of primary education as part of the CRC mainstreaming in the country.

However, with a positive increase, UPE has got so many challenges that threaten the right to education in as far as the quality of education is concerned.

The right to food, which has a direct effect on education, has not been achieved as millions of children go hungry and, therefore, cannot benefit from the programme. For the case of northern Uganda, the conflict that has raged on for more than 20 years has been a catastrophe to the education sector.

Though the ministry has embarked on a drive to revamp the programme by building more schools and providing instructional materials, there is need to have affirmative action for north and eastern Uganda, if UPE is to succeed there.

In a conflict setting like northern Uganda, it is shocking to learn that the teacher to pupil ratio in schools is at an average of 1:80. This, coupled with a poor study environment, is a deterrent of the programme.

Children trek long distances to the few schools that are readily available and basic needs like food is treated as a luxury.

The Government, as a principal custodian of children’s rights, needs to join hands with other stakeholders to provide better services especially for the children in the war areas.

Children are the future of Uganda.

The writer is a human rights student

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