High dropout rate still dents UPE â€" UN report
Sep 11, 2005
THIS week, world leaders will converge at the United Nations headquarters in New York to review the progress towards the pledge they made five years ago of ending world poverty.
By Carol Natukunda
and Arthur Baguma
THIS week, world leaders will converge at the United Nations headquarters in New York to review the progress towards the pledge they made five years ago of ending world poverty.
The meeting, dubbed Millennium Summit+5 comes just a week after the launch of the UN Human Development Report 2005.
While noting that advances have been made towards achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the report warned that there was little cause to celebrate, particularly in developing countries.
Goal Two, which talks of providing basic education to all the world’s children, seems to be off the 2015 target.
The 372-page report says while Uganda still remains a role model in education in the region, with universal primary enrolment within reach, the high drop-out rate was a black spot towards achieving the MDG. “Dropout rates make achieving universal completion by 2015 unlikely,†the report says.
Warren Nyamugasira, the executive director of the Uganda NGO Forum, says Universal Primary Education (UPE) should not only be measured in terms of enrollment but also in terms of completion and the level of literacy and numeracy attained.
“By focusing only on pupil enrollment, the MDG on UPE reflects only a small part of the local reality,†he says.
Elizabeth Eilor, the coordinator African Women’s Economic Policy Network, raised quality concerns.
“The numbers of children going to school may have increased, but how sure are we that they aren’t sitting idly in classes?
“It’s very typical that a primary four child does not know how to read,†Eilor said.
The NGOs urged the Government to urgently address quality issues like huge classes, the high pupil – textbook ratio, teacher remuneration, teacher absenteeism, corruption and the provision of meals.
“All kids, however smart, will not learn much if they are hungry,†argues Nyamugasira. “Those of us who have experienced hunger know at a personal level how it is awfully difficult to concentrate on an empty stomach,†he adds.
On teacher absenteeism, the NGO Forum finding is corroborated by a 2004 World Bank study: ‘Making Services Work For The Poor,’ which reported that on average, there was a 26% absence of teachers in Ugandan schools on any day.
The Human Development report, however, says Uganda had registered tremendous improvement in the sector, with primary school enrolment rising from 5.3 million in 1997 to 7.6 million today.
The ratio of Ugandans enrolled in primary, secondary and tertiary education is 74% up from 71% last year, ahead of Kenya’s 52%, Rwanda’s 55% and Tanzania’s 41%.
However, Kenya leads East Africa in adult literacy, with 73.6%, followed by Uganda with 68.9%, Tanzania-69.4% and Rwanda with 64.0%
Education minister Namirembe Bitamazire said the Government is taking necessary measures to achieve retention at primary level, where the dropout rate stands at 5-10%.
 “We are trying to improve the school environment, sensitise parents and stakeholders about the importance of education. Importantly, we are promoting the girl child education because girls are more likely to drop out at lower level than boys.â€
The report attributes Uganda’s education progress to poverty reduction priorities, which shifted to education in the 1990s. It says free primary education saw public spending increased.
According to Florence Malinga, the commissioner for education planning, funding to the education sector as share of the national budget had increased from 12% in 1992 to 24.1% in 2002.
But the Uganda National NGO Forum doubts the enrolment figures.
In a 2005 study, the forum estimated that there could be about 1.3 million ghost pupils in primary schools as a result of unscrupulous school administrators inflating enrolments for financial gains.
In 2003, 86 out of 100 children were enrolled in primary schools. Some of these figures may not be true because some schools show more children than they have in order to get more government support,†Nyamugasira said while presenting the report at a media training workshop in Kampala recently.
The UPE capitation grant is based on the number of pupils in a school.
Nyamugasira says while Central Government releases are supposed to be publicly displayed for school management committees and parents to monitor their use, there is a limit to which the system could be effective.
“In districts where leadership is weak and corrupt, parents are not willing to risk the future of their children by confronting corrupt school officials, who may be connected to higher district officials,†he says.
and Arthur Baguma
THIS week, world leaders will converge at the United Nations headquarters in New York to review the progress towards the pledge they made five years ago of ending world poverty.
The meeting, dubbed Millennium Summit+5 comes just a week after the launch of the UN Human Development Report 2005.
While noting that advances have been made towards achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the report warned that there was little cause to celebrate, particularly in developing countries.
Goal Two, which talks of providing basic education to all the world’s children, seems to be off the 2015 target.
The 372-page report says while Uganda still remains a role model in education in the region, with universal primary enrolment within reach, the high drop-out rate was a black spot towards achieving the MDG. “Dropout rates make achieving universal completion by 2015 unlikely,†the report says.
Warren Nyamugasira, the executive director of the Uganda NGO Forum, says Universal Primary Education (UPE) should not only be measured in terms of enrollment but also in terms of completion and the level of literacy and numeracy attained.
“By focusing only on pupil enrollment, the MDG on UPE reflects only a small part of the local reality,†he says.
Elizabeth Eilor, the coordinator African Women’s Economic Policy Network, raised quality concerns.
“The numbers of children going to school may have increased, but how sure are we that they aren’t sitting idly in classes?
“It’s very typical that a primary four child does not know how to read,†Eilor said.
The NGOs urged the Government to urgently address quality issues like huge classes, the high pupil – textbook ratio, teacher remuneration, teacher absenteeism, corruption and the provision of meals.
“All kids, however smart, will not learn much if they are hungry,†argues Nyamugasira. “Those of us who have experienced hunger know at a personal level how it is awfully difficult to concentrate on an empty stomach,†he adds.
On teacher absenteeism, the NGO Forum finding is corroborated by a 2004 World Bank study: ‘Making Services Work For The Poor,’ which reported that on average, there was a 26% absence of teachers in Ugandan schools on any day.
The Human Development report, however, says Uganda had registered tremendous improvement in the sector, with primary school enrolment rising from 5.3 million in 1997 to 7.6 million today.
The ratio of Ugandans enrolled in primary, secondary and tertiary education is 74% up from 71% last year, ahead of Kenya’s 52%, Rwanda’s 55% and Tanzania’s 41%.
However, Kenya leads East Africa in adult literacy, with 73.6%, followed by Uganda with 68.9%, Tanzania-69.4% and Rwanda with 64.0%
Education minister Namirembe Bitamazire said the Government is taking necessary measures to achieve retention at primary level, where the dropout rate stands at 5-10%.
 “We are trying to improve the school environment, sensitise parents and stakeholders about the importance of education. Importantly, we are promoting the girl child education because girls are more likely to drop out at lower level than boys.â€
The report attributes Uganda’s education progress to poverty reduction priorities, which shifted to education in the 1990s. It says free primary education saw public spending increased.
According to Florence Malinga, the commissioner for education planning, funding to the education sector as share of the national budget had increased from 12% in 1992 to 24.1% in 2002.
But the Uganda National NGO Forum doubts the enrolment figures.
In a 2005 study, the forum estimated that there could be about 1.3 million ghost pupils in primary schools as a result of unscrupulous school administrators inflating enrolments for financial gains.
In 2003, 86 out of 100 children were enrolled in primary schools. Some of these figures may not be true because some schools show more children than they have in order to get more government support,†Nyamugasira said while presenting the report at a media training workshop in Kampala recently.
The UPE capitation grant is based on the number of pupils in a school.
Nyamugasira says while Central Government releases are supposed to be publicly displayed for school management committees and parents to monitor their use, there is a limit to which the system could be effective.
“In districts where leadership is weak and corrupt, parents are not willing to risk the future of their children by confronting corrupt school officials, who may be connected to higher district officials,†he says.