{UAH} The failure of Universal Primary Education in Lango

The failure of Universal Primary Education in Lango

The Universal Primary Education (UPE) has been with us in Uganda for over ten years if I am not mistaken.  The NRM government thought that it was one of their "Master Strokes". But from my observation it has been a total failure at least in Lango and it needs a rethink.  I am concerned because it is destroying lives of those young people who come from poor families.

From what I saw I can conclude the UPE has failed for a number of reasons.  I will only be able to point out a few.  The first reason is that there is overcrowding in classes.  In lower primary where children needs great attention you will find that in one class there are over 200 children.  To me who had been a teacher for sometimes managing a class becomes impossible and the children can gain very little from the teacher.  From the educationist, the recommended size is below 40.

The second reason is non regular attendance of children.  Teachers are not strict anymore with the attendance of children.  Most children attend whenever they can.  During rainy season it becomes worse.  Some of the absenteeism is due to school authorities.  There are usually extra fees levied to parents.  If they cannot pay it, then their children are not allowed to attend classes.

The third reason is that teachers usually come late to classes or sometimes they do not turn up at all.  This is due to poor administration by head teachers.  Some head teachers can even stay away from school for a week or more. A number of teachers have side business to supplement their income so most of the time they concentrate on their business.  Unfortunately running of side business is being encouraged by the government.  I can remember that President Museveni in one of his public speeches advised teachers to do side business in order to supplement their income.

The fourth reason is that school inspectors are not doing their jobs efficiently as it should be done.  They always claim that they cannot carry their duties of visiting schools because there is no money to pay for their allowances.

I can go on pointing many reasons for the failures but there is no use.  I would only like to advice the parents whose children are attending UPE to have a rethink about their children's education.  If they want their children to achieve good education they should ask the government to make improvements in the areas I have pointed or just look for money and send their children to private schools which are doing fairly well.

John Ojok-Akona