How to make Uganda’s pre-university education a global academic success story

Furthermore, it is noted that 7,310,386 youth in Uganda are between the ages of 15 and 24.

According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, Uganda’s primary school attendance has doubled from 2.9 million pupils in 1995 to over 8.3 million students by 2023 as a result of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and reform initiatives.  

With UPE’s establishment, secondary school enrolment has also increased dramatically. According to the 2019/2020 Education and Sports, Sector Performance Report, the total enrolment in primary and secondary schools in Uganda increased to 2,547,737 students. 

All of this is cause for celebration as the nation works to usher in a new era of training young, energetic, talented labourers who can effectively compete in the demands of the present fourth industrial revolution on a global scale.

But in order to realise this admirable goal, the current educational system needs to support students and parents in their role as stakeholders in order to move away from capitalist, exploitative barrier policies that obstruct access to the best possible 21st-century learning environment.

Consider the requirement for attendance at all schools, which is mandated by most schools. At the start of each term, it is not unusual to witness parents going shopping with their kids in tow! School requirement lists typically leave a lot to be desired—mostly acquired in multiples of hundreds!

Reams of paper, various cleaning brushes, toilet paper, and academic supplies, to name a few, whose combined cost is about half of the entire  fees costs, have continued to adorn our learning environment.

In addition to being heavy to transport, these shopping carts pose a severe risk to kids’ and their guardians’ safety on the roads. Because most students use motorcycles (boda bodas) to get to school, several of them have been in accidents as a result of their heavy load. 

Huge bags have increased the expense of transportation for students even when using alternative modes of transportation, and they may also be a contributing factor in traffic accidents. In opposition to these previously mentioned reasons, I would like to suggest the following in order to improve our elementary and secondary education:

•In addition to fees, schools should also levy additional costs in the form of cash that must be paid there than leave procurement to individual parents. They would be able to buy requirements in bulk from service suppliers at a reduced cost as a result. In addition, not all expenses would be covered each term, unlike in certain educational institutions!

•Schools should  start acquiring their own, long-term assets, like beds, similar to what most higher institution of learning  have done for their residence halls. Most tertiary institution  students report  in hostels  without beds, with the exception of  no-resident students.

•Boarding schools must to have a unique plan in place to retain students’ belongings at schools on their behalf during brief breaks, with the possible exception of the lengthy December breaks. It should be okay for students to return home with just book bags.

If the above suggestions were to be put in considerations, our country would boast of the best learning environment in the region.

Besides parents in Uganda continue to pay high fees. Therefore, a give back in form of best services would be a gesture of a joint effort between schools and stakeholders in supporting the government to have an excellent model education system in the Great Lakes Region.

JohnMary Vianney Ahumuza, PhD Candidate , University of Ghana,Legon