Col (Rtd) Nuwe Amanya Mushega, Chairperson Education Policy Review Commission
Several educationists and development partners argue that the ongoing education policy review might not produce the desired overhaul of the education system should the government continue conducting business as usual.
This came when representatives from the NGO forum, and selected civil society organizations including World Vision, Back-Up Uganda, and Save the Children appeared before the Amanya Mushega-led commission to present their views.
Speaker after speaker noted that whereas numerous challenges affected the education system, the majority of the challenges are brought about by the government’s inability to effectively enforce the available rules and regulations.
Moses Isoba, the Director of the Uganda National NGO Forum stated that if anything is to change going forward, the government should be bold and step up and play its role by making sure that the current policies and regulations and those that will be proposed are enforced.
Just like the boss of the NGO forum observed, several other players, praised Uganda for drafting good policies but said there is nothing to show when it comes to their implementation.
The 1992 government white paper, which is currently being reviewed, serves as a good illustration.
When the paper was first published, it was hailed as a panacea, but 30 years later, the government has only been able to implement about 20 percent of the recommendations that were deemed crucial for the education sector.
Isoba notes that there must be a structure that can shield education programs from “cheap” politics.
He cited the example of school feeding to drive his point noting that this straightforward problem could have been resolved, but ever since it became political, all potential and practical solutions have been disregarded.
Hold a grip on private actors
When several commissioners questioned how private actors, who are sometimes held responsible for the numerous shortcomings in the sector, can be controlled, John Tereraho, a senior education advisor at World Vision Uganda, responded that the government’s failure to tame the private players has deteriorated the entire system.
Tererabo swiftly suggested that if the government wanted to restore order in the educational system, it should set a limit on the amount that both public and private schools charge for tuition and scholastic materials.
He added that without the government’s hand, schools are free to act how they choose because no one is holding them accountable.
Dr. Yusuf Nsubuga, a member of the commission and a former director of basic education in the ministry of education noted that previous attempts by the government to regulate private players have failed.
He, however, concurred that this would be a practical solution but hastened to add that it might not be implemented.
Eng John Nasasira, the former works minister, who is a member of the commission, insisted that although the government might not be able to completely do away with private and non-state actors in the education sector, there is a need for effective and strong regulation.
Dr. Joseph Muvawala, the deputy chairperson of the commission expressed a need to revisit how public schools are managed.
Citing the example of Jinja SS, Muvawala noted that the school has been able to keep its fees at Shillings 450,000 and has been able to sustain its operation and offer good education to learners.
Muvawala, who is also the executive director at the national planning authority wondered why other government schools have decided to charge learners millions.
“It is a series of problems, but in many schools the governing systems are dead. Most of the board members are not in charge but rather remote control of headteachers where they sign allowances and sometimes by the foundation bodies. How our schools are governed also relates to the quality of education there, the fees, and other issues. This issue also needs to be addressed,” Muvawala added.
Although education in UPE and USE schools is free, some children fail to access it because of additional charges, especially for uniforms, lunch, and PTA (Parents Teachers Association) that are reportedly used to pay allowance to teachers and meet the remunerations of teachers who are not on the government payroll.
Tereraho also made note of the fact that most of the money raised in schools is used for undesirable initiatives that are occasionally promoted to the detriment of other children by supposedly wealthy parents.
According to him, the puzzle can be solved even if the ministry doesn’t develop new policies in this area.
Make Primary, and secondary education mandatory
Besides putting a grip on liberation in the education sector and controlling school fees in both government and private schools, the NGO forum also proposed that the government should make primary and secondary education compulsory.
Tereraho noted that currently, 70 percent of adolescents are not getting any form of education.
According to him, with compulsory education, every child will have the opportunity to complete at least high school, which might have a big impact on both their life and the development of the country.
This is not exactly a new idea, though, since the government’s white paper already makes school attendance mandatory for all children of the appropriate age.
However, this was never remedied, preventing many kids from accessing education.
There are more than a million children who are of school age but are not enrolled in school, according to data from the education ministry, despite the government establishing a school in almost every parish nationwide.
Even worse, 60% of those who enroll drop out before primary seven. The research also reveals that just 6 out of every 10 students who complete elementary school are able to enroll in a secondary school.
During the budget speech this year, President Museveni also expressed concerns akin to these.
To address this issue, the president recommended that lawmakers allocate more money to UPE and USE in the forthcoming fiscal year so that all Ugandan children could obtain a free and mandatory primary and secondary education.
Officials from the NGO Forum, World Vision, and Save the Children said that in addition to having mandatory primary, and secondary education factors that keep students out of school should also be examined.
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