How Uganda acquired the white collar job syndrome

To mark 50 years of Uganda’s independence, New Vision will until October 9, 2012 be publishing highlights of events and profiling personalities who have shaped the history of this country. Today, JOEL OGWANG looks at how Uganda turned out to be become a white collar job country

IT is a cancer that has, for decades, eaten into the Uganda’s education system, rendering most graduates more theoretical than practical. Yet, creating an enlightened and practical academic class is crucial for social, political and economic transformation of a developing country like Uganda.

However, human resource experts say most of our educational institutions are not imparting this critical thinking skill.

“We have students who are good at writing, but poor at practical work,” says Francis Ojede, a human resource consultant.

“Because of this, countries like the US and the UK shifted from recruitment based on qualifications to that based on competence. Ours is still qualification-based, which is not helping matters,” adds Ojede.

How it started
Prior to the introduction of formal education, Uganda had a home based informal education system that groomed children into responsible and socially acceptable citizens. The various ethnicities had tailormade training that was practical and
relevant to their societal needs.

However, the education spectrum changed with the arrival of the missionaries in Buganda and the subsequent introduction of formal education in 1886. Geared at enabling Ugandans read the Bible, the alien education system started with catechism classes.

Later, the Christian converts were taught how to write and gained technical education skills as formal education took centre stage, relegating informal education into obsolesce.

The missionaries later established elementary schools, starting with Kayanja Memorial School and then Mengo Primary School, sheltered in reeds and grass-thatched structures in 1895.

Initially, the British Colonial Office did not have a policy to train Africans in skills fearing that it would make Africans believe they were equal to Europeans. As a result, the British Colonial Offi ce did not begin building schools in Uganda until 1927.

Ownership of most schools remained in the hands of missionaries until independence, despite the creation of the education ministry in 1957.

However, as independence beckoned in 1962, there was need to create a mass of workers that would take on clerical work after independence. This new education regime set the trend for a civil-servant mentality which is still evident today.

The majority of Ugandan schools and institutions train students for the formal sector. The country needed civil servants to fi ll the vacuum created by the departing colonialists, says former education minister, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire.

“Our education system was tailormade to address the shortage of administrators when the colonialists left,” she says. “Much as we are moving away from this, the infl uence of missionaries is still strong in our education system as religious institutions own, support and partner with the Government in the provision of education.”

Shift from biblical education In a bid to create a new breed of job-creators, the Government has prioritised vocational education and teaching of sciences in higher institutions of learning. However, with a negative attitude towards vocational education and the high cost of science education, Uganda may still be churning out ‘white collar’ job seekers.

“People who enrol for vocational education are considered failures,” Says Ojede. “It is considered that for one to be educated, he or she must attain university education.”

The frustration
For an average parent, the stress and pain of educating a child gets worse if a graduate is not innovative enough to make a living using his/ her acquired knowledge, preferring to seek the often elusive jobs, after university.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimations show that, while universities and tertiary institutions churn out 410,000 graduates annually, the labour market only absorbs 120,000 of them. Additionally, the country’s public service employs about 500,000, leaving the majority of the graduates to look for work in the private sector.

Patrick Kaboyo, the Coalition of Uganda Private School Teachers Association (COUPSTA) executive director, argues that formal education was aimed at creating an administrative class to supplement white manpower.

Way forward
Bitamazire is optimistic that although the transition from theory to practical education is gradual, it will succeed if adequate resources are invested in the education system. Charles Ocici, the Enterprise Uganda executive director, argues that a long-term remedy to the country’s ‘white collar’ job syndrome is reviewing the education system to promote hands-on vocational training.

“We also need holiday mindset transformation clinics, where students get hands-on training to show them that the real world requires bringing solutions to the market, not just papers,” he says. He proposes emphasis on assessment-based identifi cation of talent, rather than academic success as a basis for recruitment to higher institutions of learning and the job market.

This should start at P7 up to higher education level. “Right now, we admire people who graduate with degrees and sit in offices, but earn sh200,000 a month,” Ocici says. “Much as they are smart and knowledgeable, they can make more money and be more useful to society outside the office,” he says.

What challenges does Uganda’s education system pose?

Ronald Kakaire, a mechanical technician/instructor
The biggest problem in our universities is that students don’t do enough practicals. The Government should enact a policy, where industrial training is keenly supervised. Universities also need well-equipped workshops, and should regulate their intakes to avoid competition for the little resources.

Abubaker Magezi, a social scientist
The education system and job-market in Uganda rewards students who cram and get colourful certifi cates, yet they cannot apply concepts in the workplace. We need enrolment and recruitment is based on ability/competence and not qualification.

Baker Sultan, a businessman
Graduates do not get to do jobs they are qualified for, which makes it hard to apply their skills at the workplace. There should be compulsory retirement at 50 years to create room for fresh graduates.

Beatrice Mbuliro, a water engineer Universities should design courses based on the market needs and dedicate more time to internship and industrial training. This will limit graduates lacking in practical skills.