Why Ugandan Muslims have lagged behind

By Haji Nsereko Mutumba

Education is one of the most important activities that shape human beings.

An educated person has more chances of social mobility from the peasantry to either the middle-class or the skilled working class.

When European missionaries settled in Uganda, the first thing they did was to establish missionary schools meant for Christian children who would eventually become political leaders and indeed they led.

The Arabs who were the first to arrive were more interested in the propagation of Islam and business.

By the time Muslims woke up to focus on education, our Christian counterparts had established themselves both politically and economically. This explains the current education gap between Muslims and Christians in Uganda. The situation was made worse by the colonial and post-colonial governments that marginalised Muslims when it came to matters of education, politics and economic transformation.

A case in point was in 1920 when the colonial governor Sir Harry Johnston wanted Uganda to be a Christian state.

According to a book titled Abaasimba Obuyisiraamu Mu Uganda written by Prince Al Haji Badru Kakungulu and Prof. A.B.K Kasozi - page 58-59, Sir Harry Johnston once said: "… it is not in the interest of the British government to just watch as more people embrace Islam. This is because Muslims are not easy to govern and they are opposed to a government dominated by Christians".

This was in response to reports that one of the chiefs known as Salehe was using his position to spread Islam. In the same year, one of the colonial secretaries in charge of native affairs strongly opposed the idea of Muslims acquiring secular education. He went to the extent of rewarding those who were distorting and insulting Islam as well as Muslims. Attempts by Muslims to bring an Indian teacher to teach secular education to their children were frustrated by the governor himself.

Therefore, failure by Muslims to acquire secular education by then was not out of their own making, but a design by the British colonialists who were predominantly Protestants.

When the NRM government came to power, it made education a priority. On the side of Muslims, the government cleared the operationalisation of the Islamic University in Uganda and even offered land in Mbale and Kampala for its expansion and sustenance.

A good number of Muslims were able to establish private Muslim Schools/institutions which are currently thriving.

Despite the above successes, there is evidence of unfairness from the government side towards Muslims when it comes to the current education system in Uganda.

Muslims, like any other religious denomination are key stakeholders in the education system of the country.

Considering the fact that we have lagged behind in education and now that Muslims have woken up and started many Muslim schools/institutions to bridge the education gap, government has not fully involved us in the management of education in this country.

None of the four ministers, who are political appointees under the education ministry, is a Muslim. A majority of the public officers in the ministry are non-Muslims.

The ministry has four directorates.

Out of the three substantive directors, one is an Anglican, one Catholic and one Muslim who is retiring in June 2016. The acting one is also a Muslim.

There is no guarantee that the retiring Muslim will be replaced by another Muslim.

However, it is important to note that these positions are more less ceremonial for the reasons below:

• Major strategic decisions are taken at departmental level by the commissioners. The director simply endorses.

• The office of the director has no budget; it operates on the mercy of the departments.

• In many cases, the commissioners report directly to the PS rendering the office of the director less important.

The Education Ministry has 15 functional departments; 12 of these are headed by Catholics and three by Anglicans. There is no single Muslim commissioner in the entire ministry, yet it is the commissioners who sit in the ministry strategic committee meetings where strategic decisions that impact the development of schools are taken e.g. the top management of the ministry and the education sector consultative committee where development partners participate etc.

Again going by the promotional ladder and the seniority levels, it may take about 15 years to have a Muslim Commissioner in the ministry.

I suspect that the decision to promote the then commissioners to directorship positions ensuring that there are no Muslim Commissioners in the system was a deliberate move by some individuals in the ministry to keep Muslims out.

Out of the 31 Assistant Commissioners, only three are Muslims; two of whom are retiring this year 2016. Going by the promotional ladder and those below them, these two will be replaced by non-Muslims.

At the level of principal education officers, there are only two Muslims out of the 52 in the entire ministry.

Most of the Muslim staff in the Ministry are drivers and office attendants.

The ministry has got over 60 contract staff members and out of these, only two are known Muslims.

It is upon this background that I urge the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who is a known supporter and friend of Muslims to appoint a Muslim as the Minister of Education in addition to the many other contributions he has made to Islam and Muslims in Uganda.

The ministry should also consider Muslims, especially when filling vacant key positions.

The writer is the public relations officer of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council