National Overview: Uganda

• Definition of literacy: Age 15 and over can read and write (CIA World Fact Book).

• Written and oral languages: Lugandan, also known as Ganda, is a Bantu language and is spoken mainly in the Buganda region of Uganda by a population of over three million people. With 100,000 second language speakers, it is the most widely spoken second language in Uganda next to English. The language is used in some primary schools in Buganda as pupils begin to learn English, the official language of Uganda (Luganda Language, 2006).

• Literacy Rate: 79% (male), 59% (female)

• Total expenditure on education: 15% of central government expenditure allocated to education.

• Script/alphabet used: The Luganda language uses the Roman alphabet and like other Bantu languages, has a noun class system in which prefixes on nouns mark membership of one of the noun genders. Pronouns, adjectives, and verbs reflect the noun gender of the nominal they refer to (Luganda Language, 2006).

top

School structure

• Primary school:

• Length: 7 years
• Age level: 7-13 yrs

• General Secondary school:

• Length: 4 years
• Age level: 14-17 yrs

• Preparatory secondary school:

• Length: 2 years
• Age level: 18-19 years

• Higher education: Between 9,000 and 12,000 students per year qualify to join post-secondary education. However, only about 25 percent of these get into college or university. Makerere University is Uganda's leading institution of higher learning, accounting for 95 percent of the total university enrollments. The remaining 5 percent are shared between six other Universities at Mbarara, Ndejje, Nkumba, Mbale, Martyrs and Bugema. The enrollments into tertiary institutions over the last 10 years increased by over 90 percent while the number of tertiary institutions increased by 1.8 percent in the same period.

There is still need for more institutions and colleges to be able to take the high numbers of students who leave secondary schools in Uganda. Apart from Makerere University which is funded by the government, students have to pay fees to be able to study (Education in Uganda, 2006).

School enrollment:

• * Public or private schools: 89% enrollment in public and private schools.

• * Primary school: 142% (Male), 139% (female)

• * Secondary school: 22% (male), 18% (Female)

School attendance:

• * Primary school: 78% (Male), 79% (Female)

• * Secondary school: 14% (Male), 15% (Female)

Pupil to teacher ratio:

Between 2000 and 2004 secondary school enrolment and the number of teachers has more than doubled with a student teacher ratio rising.

 * Primary: 50:1

 * Secondary: 19:1

Teacher qualifications:

Primary teacher education has been undergoing reform too with improvement in, tutor training programmers, provision of transport and instructional materials, construction of tutor residences, and so on. To ensure that teachers and tutors do their job efficiently and effectively, teacher/tutor wage has been improved and government now pays their salaries in time. Such mechanisms which motivate tutors will guarantee quality teaching and learning in the country’s primary schools, and are reflected in reduced repetition rates and drop-out and an improvement in survival rates (Uganda Country Report, 2000).

Languages in schools:

Teaching in lower primary (P1-P3) using first language and then English, is possible in rural schools but not in urban settings because of ethnic mix ups. Local languages are indeed gaining prominence and therefore facilitating learning and retention of those who have accessed primary schools to complete it. However, textbooks to be used in the teaching of these languages need to be developed urgently (Uganda Country Report, 2000).

Method of instruction and subjects/curriculum:

In Primary schools, children learn Math, English, Social studies and Science. There are also a number of practical skill programs in music, art and agriculture which most children learn. When in secondary school the children are introduced to more subjects normally 12 new subjects (Education in Uganda, 2006).

top

Culture of classroom

Physical environment:

In most places children have to walk to schools sometimes for up to 5 or 6 miles to school and then back. Some city schools have private means of transporting their children but these are few as most people in Uganda live in rural areas.

The school buildings especially in the villages are mainly bungalows with concrete floors and corrugated iron roofs. The school day starts between 7:00am and 8:00am and the children are all expected to be there on time. Children are expected to be clean and tidy and they also have to ensure that the classes and school compound is clean

Children on various occasions throughout the school day will be called upon to clean the compound with brooms made of grass while the rest pick up the leaves and any other litter with their hands. Some times the pupils will use hand hoes to dig around the school compound and trim the hedges. Schools close at 4:00pm and then all the pupils have to walk back to their home (Education in Uganda).

The school year in Uganda begins in February and ends in December. Ugandan schools have three terms throughout the school year, named First term, Second term and Third term which is when students sit their exams to end the year before they go on to another class. A school term lasts for about 3 months followed by about 3 weeks break, though the third term break is the longest and that is when most families go on holiday (Education in Uganda).

Attire:

All pupils must wear a school uniform with a badge showing the name of their school. Different schools will have different colors and different styles of uniforms. The boys will normally wear a shirt and a pair of shorts and the girls will wear a dress. Most children in the rural schools do not wear shoes; they walk on bare feet and can even be seen playing football and other games with no shoes. The class sizes in Uganda is between 40 and 80. In the classroom, children sit on work benches with a table in the middle if they are lucky. Some schools do not have benches and tables so the pupils have to sit and write on the floor (Education in Uganda, 2006).

Teacher-Student Relationship:

Schools in Uganda are very formal and teachers are highly respected by the pupils and other members of the community. Most children want to go to school and value their education very much (Education in Uganda).

Who Pays?

Children have to provide their own exercise books while at school and until recently, their parents had to pay school fees for every term for them to be allowed into school. Now the government provides money for four children per family (Education in Uganda).

Accommodations:

Children with disabilities have been given first priority to enroll. The passing by Parliament of Uganda National Institute of Special Education (UNISE) Act to cater for children with special needs, the establishment of Educational Assessment and Resource Services (EARS) centers in 39 districts to ensure provision of adequate skills to teachers to identify and handle children with special needs; and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Local Councils to make policies and decisions specific to their interests (Uganda Country Report, 2000).

There are a number of innovative basic education programs for children in disadvantaged areas. For example, nomadic areas of Moroto and Kotido (Karamoja) have Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) which focuses its activities on bringing literacy to children who are not in formal schools. These children are taught in their manyattas (homes) at their convenient time, using instructors from their communities (Uganda Country Report, 2000). (Uganda Country Report, 2000).

There are a number of innovative basic education programs for children in disadvantaged areas. For example, in nomadic areas of Moroto and Kotido (Karamoja) we have Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) which focuses its activities on bringing literacy to children who are not in formal schools. These children are taught in their manyattas (homes) at their convenience, using instructors from their communities (Uganda Country Report, 2000).

top

Access to education

Educational barriers: Language, money

Socio-political influences: family, community and government (Government

aid).

In Uganda children are to begin school at the age of 7, however a lot of children do not get the opportunity to do so because a number of reasons like illness, being babysitters for younger siblings, or lack of schools. Another reason that children may not be able to attend school at the designated age is because children sometimes have to earn their own money to pay tuition, because parents can’t afford to do it themselves. At the current time the government provides free education to four children in every home, however the average family has 8 children.

top

A Day in the Life

A typical day for a rural primary school child in Uganda

5:00am: Wake up, clean up.

5:15am: Collect water from the well

6:00am: Clean the compound at home; take animals to the farm to graze

6:15am: Have breakfast

6:30am: Start walk to school

7:00am: Arrive at school

7:15am: Clean school compound and classrooms

7: 40am: School assembly and prayers

8:00am: Go to class for lessons

10:00am: Break Time

10:40am: Lessons

1:00pm: Lunch break

2:00pm: Back to class for lessons

3:00pm: End class, start to work in the garden and clean compound

4:00pm: School ends, start walking back home

5:30pm: Take of fschool uniform and have some thing to eat

6:00pm: Go to the well to collect water, get animals back from the farm, and collect firewood from the forests

8:00pm: Back home, have a shower

8:45pm: Start homework

9:30pm: Have supper

10:00pm: Help to wash dishes

10:15pm: Finish homework

11:00pm: Go to bed (Education in Uganda)

top

Sources

Bureau of African Affairs: Background Note: Uganda. Retrieved Feburary 26, 2006, from http:// www.state.gov

UNICEF: Uganda. Retrieved March 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org

UBOS: Education statistics. Retrieved March 6, 2006 from http://www.ubos.org

Wikipedia free encyclopedia: Luganda language. Retrieved March 6, 2006 fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luganda_language

GandaAncestory: Education statistics. Retrieved March 6, 2006, from .http://www.gandaancestry.com/dictionary/dictionary.php

Experience Africa: Education in Uganda: Information about Uganda Primary and Secondary Schools. Retrieved March 6, 2006, from http://www.experienceafrica.co.uk/J1.htm

top

Last Revised

02 November 2006