BACK TO SCHOOL REPORT RANKED UGANDA 46th OUT OF 60 COUNTRIES SURVEYED!

BACK TO SCHOOL REPORT RANKED UGANDA 46th OUT OF 60 COUNTRIES SURVEYED!
Namutamba Demonstration School is partly a victim of the ‘UPE” drive which has affected negatively many previously performing Government Aided Schools. Even then, it is no excuse for us to sit back as the Glory of the School which made us what we are perishes on. I only wish to call upon all who have their roots some how connected to Namutamba and most especially Namutamba Demonstration School to help in the various initiatives to see the school rise and shine again.

In an Education For All report released in “Back to School” of September 2010, Uganda was ranked 46th out of 60 countries surveyed with a score of 37%. Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo were ranked 11th, 25th, 37th and 36th respectively. The report was made by Action Aid International, Education International, Plan International, Oxfam Novib, Save the Children and VSO. The ranking was based on basic education, teacher – student ratio and education provision for girls. The report pointed out that only 57% of the children in Uganda complete primary education! Factors responsible are poverty, internal and external armed conflicts, natural disasters, child labour, HIV/AIDS, gender based violence, child unfriendly environment, lack of mid – day meals.
It was observed that the highly examination oriented system in Uganda ignored many aspects of learning such as Life Skills.
The status and morale of teachers was also pointed out which is a result of limited development and support interventions; inadequate staffing, all being contributory factors to poor performance of UPE.

“As part of the In-Service Training Programme organized by UNATU, the Deputy General Secretary Programmes at Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) arranged a field visit for UNATU’s Colleagues from the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) to one rural primary school under the UPE programme within Wakiso district, this was on July 9 2010. When this UNATU official and the visitor arrived at the school at about 3.00pm, all the pupils were found in the compound just passing time! The reason was because they had not got a meal. They were hungry and could not concentrate in class.”

The above scenario is unfortunate. Research has it that 68% of the pupils in primary schools in Uganda do not have sure mid-day meals. This is shocking if out of these are the future professionals the country is grooming! This state of affairs is partly responsible for the dropping out from school by some pupils. They cannot concentrate while on an empty stomach. The unfortunate situation is that, though a number of UPE schools have children feeding programmes, many parents in the rural areas cannot afford to pay even the minimal cost of porridge! Such children it is obvious cannot study and compete favourably in national examinations, they end up as failures.

At Namutamba Dem School, the starting point should be the growing of food for the children given that there is land. It is necessary to involve the children in the growing process while the parents also get involved through a community arrangement.

UGANDA: THE COUNTRY AMONG THE WORST PLACES TO BE IN SCHOOL
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201010200850.html
Kampala — Pupils and teachers can't speak English
During the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit in New York on Sept. 20,a report was launched by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) that surveyed the education systems in 60 countries. The report entitled, "Back to School? The worst places in the world to be a school child in 2010," was assembled by a coalition of organisations in 100 countries, and ranked Uganda as the 46th worst country in the world for a child to be in school.
The report shows how the efforts in Uganda to provide universal access to education is in crisis, and the advances in enrolling four million more children in school since 2000 are being threatened.
In 1997 when Universal Primary Education (UPE) was introduced, only about one third of school-going age children were in school. Enrolment figures then increased from 2.5 million in 1997 to 7.5 million in 2008. Secondary enrollment rates have also increased from just over 160,000 in 2007 to over 452,000 in 2009.

Although UPE and USE have led to an increase in student enrolment, Ministry of Education statistics show that only 30 percent of the pupils who started primary one in 2003 sat for Primary Leaving Examinations in 2009.
In 2008, about 43 percent of the country's children had not acquired primary education, and 78 percent had also not accessed secondary education. But beyond the numbers, other significant challenges stare the country in the face: the need for additional classrooms, science laboratories, libraries, textbooks, qualified teachers, supporting management and supervision services and improved water and sanitation.
Uganda, says the report, ranked 55 out of the 60 countries surveyed in terms of political will to implement education policies. Moreover, in East Africa, Uganda has the worst education performance.
A 2007 and 2008 study conducted by the education ministry in Amuru, Oryam, Arua, Nebbi, Bududa, Bukedea, Lyantonde, Mubende, Kyenjojo, Buliisa, Nakapiripirit and Kaabong districts, found that the completion rate of girls in Primary Seven has remained at 29 percent compared to 38 percent of boys. These are districts that have also persistently produced poor results in national examinations and lack adequate facilities.
Margaret Asiimwe, 14, a Primary Six pupil of Kivumbi Primary School in Kampala cannot read or answer questions in English. She claims she wants to become a doctor but knows very little about the reproductive system, even though her class has already covered it. However, her teacher, Arthur Bwiire, says Asiimwe is one of the brightest pupils at the school. Despite being the health prefect for her school, Asiimwe is incapable of addressing her fellow pupils in English.
Bwiire, who is not well conversant in English himself, blames a lack of textbooks and opportunities to practise on the pupils' failure to speak English. The school, which has over 300 pupils, has only 20 textbooks.
At Abim Primary School in northern Uganda, pupils sit on the ice cold floor while attending lessons; stones and bricks, which are used as seats, are reserved for pupils in Primary Five, Six and Seven. Experts say that such conditions make it hard for children to study well and as a result many end up dropping out of school.
As a result of increased enrollment, says Fortunate Ahimbisibwe of the Ministry of Education, there is now a critical shortage of classroom space. By 2007, a total of 243 out of 791 schools had class sizes of more than 80 students.
Despite all these challenges Uganda's education sector is still underfunded. The report indicates that the country has the lowest public expenditure on education in East Africa. However, at the end of the 2009/2010 financial year, the education ministry still had not spent about US$7 million dollars budgeted to recruit teachers.
The GCE report indicates that developing countries must commit 20 percent of their annual budget to education if they are to meet MDG targets.
"It is clear that a dramatic up-scaling of domestic and external aid efforts is needed in order to give the next generation better prospects than their parents and lift themselves and their countries out of poverty," reads the report.
Michael Niyitegeka, Head of Corporate Relations at Makerere University computer facility, says that universities are often blamed for poor education but the problem resides at lower levels. "People blame us when a student cannot write an application letter, but that is not our problem," he says. "The problem is with the schools they go through. Today people are schooled but they are not educated."
Uganda's learning output is indeed low. According to the report this is a product of few trained teachers. The report indicates that over 48 percent and 11 percent of secondary and primary schools respectively are untrained.
Despite the fact that Uganda passed an Education Act in 2008, which makes primary education compulsory, low public expenditure on education and lack of free school meals have hampered attendance. President Museveni has often argued that it is the parents' responsibility, not the government's, to provide lunch for their children. This financial year Uganda increased its budget for education from Shs 1.07 trillion to Shs 1.16 trillion but experts say that this is still not enough to meet the demands of the sector.

Wafula Oguttu, the spokesperson for Forum for Democratic Change, says that the report's findings are important. He says education in Uganda has become a preserve of the rich and working middle class, as they are the ones who can afford what any sane person would categorise as education.
Wafula says that the majority of government schools lack teaching facilities and teachers, yet the government does not want to recruit more teaching staff.
"There are no teachers in schools. Those who are there are paid poorly and as a result end up dodging classes," Wafula says. "The government needs to ensure that these teachers are paid well and that they stay near or at the schools so as not to dodge." Primary school teachers in Uganda earn between Shs.240,000 and 260,000.
According to ministry of education, in many districts the teacher- pupil ratio remains high. For example in the districts of Butaleja, Mbale, Arua, Maracha, Oyam, Pader and Abim, the ratio is 1:120, alarmingly higher than the recommended 1:50.
Wafula adds that for as long as enrolment keeps rising with fixed school facilities, education standards in Uganda will keep deteriorating. "How do you say you are increasing secondary school students' enrolment when you are not building laboratories, libraries? How will those students study?".