IDP bursaries a false hope

Jan 01, 2006

QUIRINIUS Komakech (not real name) of Pabbo in Gulu district gave up studies three years ago. He had repeated primary seven three times. Not that he was stupid, but in the hope of getting a sponsor for his secondary education.<br>

By Irene Nabusoba

QUIRINIUS Komakech (not real name) of Pabbo in Gulu district gave up studies three years ago. He had repeated primary seven three times. Not that he was stupid, but in the hope of getting a sponsor for his secondary education.

So when the Government announced the introduction of a bursary scheme for internally displaced persons (IDPs), Komakech thought his luck had come. However, he gave up when the school started demanding for modest contribution because money from government was not forthcoming. To make matters worst, his parents were murdered by the Lord’s Resistance Army, forcing the former abductee to start fending for his younger siblings.

Like Komakech, thousands of students in northern Uganda have dropped out or failed to join secondary schools due to similar problems. The introduction of the IDP bursary in conflict areas has not helped matters.

A study by the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN) has established that less than 20% of the funds have been disbursed since the scheme was introduced in 2004. While the Education Sector Annual Performance Report 2004/05 says government released sh1.9b for IDP students in Katakwi, Gulu, Lira, Pader, Kitgum, Apac, Kumi, Soroti and Kaberamaido districts, either the money never reached or was too thinly spread that its impact was never felt.

Xavier Ejoyi, the UCRNN policy and research officer who authored the report says in Kitgum, only sh8,000 of the sh47,000 allocated per IDP student had been released since 2004. “This amount is not only inadequate to cover fees per term in most secondary schools, but it is never released on time,” the report says.

There are several bursary schemes in the war-affected areas in the north, but Government fails to make its payments on time and its contribution is also the least.

Headteachers in schools with high populations of IDP students are at a loss of what to do. “We don’t know whether to send the children back home or wait indefinitely for the balance to be paid,” said a headteacher of a prominent school in Kitgum, echoing the views of others who say the schools are now heavily indebted.

Yusuf Nsubuga, the commissioner for secondary education said the Government was trying to meet its obligations, but is always let down by budget shortfalls.

Nsubuga says the Government has set up a task force to come up with feasible tertiary programmes tailor-made to suit the situation in the north. He said these will supplement adult literacy and education programmes. “We have set up counselling units in schools to attend to traumatised children, we also distribute chemicals and lab equipment to the schools and have embarked on the construction of infrastructure,” Nsubuga said.

Besides insecurity, the UCRNN report says financial constraint is the other factor that has kept the secondary school drop-out rates high, particularly in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader.

“Schools in war-affected areas have recorded a dropout rate of up to 25% compared to less than 5% for non-conflict districts,” says the report entitled, Studying in Armed Conflict; Challenges of Accessing Secondary Education by Children in Northern Uganda.
The report says while Universal Primary Education has increased the number of people in primary schools, parents fail to pay fees at secondary level. The rampant poverty fuelled by insurgency makes it hard for parents to pay fees.

The apparent good performance in Primary Leaving Examinations in the conflict areas (67% pass level against the national average of 62%) is false according to the report. The study established that in Gulu and Kitgum, many pupils opt to repeat Primary Seven when their parents fail to pay for their secondary education. They do this hoping to secure a scholarship if they excel. The repetition could be responsible for the good performance.

Stella Ayo, the national programme coordinator of UCRNN says while a peaceful resolution of the conflict would be the lasting solution to the educational problems in the north, the Government should provide free secondary education for all the Children affected by conflict.

She says this recommendation has already been put forward by the Northern Region Education Forum. The policy of Universal Secondary Education might not work in the north considering the fact that the policy might not cover private schools.

The study also recommended better coordination among the various agencies offering bursaries in the north to avoid duplication.

It further recommended the speedy enactment of the Costed Educational Policy Framework for the Disadvantaged Children. This is particularly useful to the formerly abducted children whose aspirations of a systematic education have been shuttered.

It therefore, goes without saying that the NGO fraternity and the Government have attempted several interventions to uplift the standards of education in the north.

However, it should be noted that the Government bursary scheme for the IDPs has not only been ineffective, but the amount is just a drop in the ocean. The UCRNN recommendations should therefore, be taken seriously.

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