Education stakeholders decry deteriorating UPE standards
The stakeholders voiced their concerns on Tuesday, in Kampala during a meeting whose theme was: “Social Accountability in Education: The role of citizens in improving the quality of Universal Primary education in Uganda”.
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Build Africa NGO, committed to improving the quality of education in primary schools, released a fact sheet report detailing some of the challenges facing UPE Schools.
It says in part: “Despite great progress on some indicators; like increase in enrolment rate of pupils over the years, UPE has faced challenges, since its inception in 1997. For instance, there has been increasing cases of misuse of UPE funds; undermining or lack of enforcement of accountability measures and declining quality of education, especially in rural schools."
The report recommends for increased availability of financial resources, but most importantly addressing structural and institutional constraints, as well as creating a more conducive environment, which enables increased participation of different stakeholders; including civil society organisations.
Anselm Wandega, Build Africa Uganda's country director, said there is need to empower citizens with skills and tools to understand the value of education.
“Education is a fundamental human right, which is why Build Africa Uganda has been active in the North, Eastern and Western parts of Uganda, for the last 21 years, to put in place education structures at village and sub county levels”, he said.
The Chief of Party at Build Africa Uganda, Eva Matsiko reiterated the need for Ugandans to build the education system of their children and stop admiring the education systems of developed countries.
“There is no magic bullet in improving education standards of our children. It should start with our mindset change”, she said.
James Tweheyo, the executive director Mwalimu Initiative, explained the factors that contribute to UPE's deteriorating standards.
“These include poverty at households, poor health of pupils and lack of food in schools”, he said.
