Opinion: Is it the parents’ negative attitude towards education or the education system to blame?

By George Wilson Ssenkande

 As quoted many times in different articles and research papers; parents’ poor negative attitude towards education -- one of the major challenges to education in Uganda especially in rural contexts -- might be a misapprehend of the status quo.

Albeit it is prevalent among many parents and communities, generalizing it across the majority of rural parents might be a fallacy of defective induction.

While maintaining respect for the research efforts and interventions to mitigate this challenge, several critical and unbiased observations herein give a different take in hindsight with a hope that the requisite interventions to remedy this possible misdiagnosis are redirected towards the right challenge.

The status quo

The argument hereinabove is incumbent in many Lake Victoria shore communities of Mayuge District, Eastern Uganda, that I have been able to visit since the start of my Fellowship with Teach For Uganda early November.

From several home visits and one-on-one interactions with over 50 parents across 8 villages served by one Universal Primary Education School, a different picture started forming. It is irrefutable that many parents have been unjustly perceived to express a negative attitude towards educating their children, yet their grievances lie with the schools and the education system rather than education in its entirety.

The historic context

For a fact, many of the parents in Uganda grew up under a generational narrative that education is the only route to a successful life -- a correct assertion to a large extent provided by “a successful life” is correctly and contextually atomized. By and large, Ugandans that made it to the middle and first-class -- in terms of well-being are noted to have attained a certain level of education to become nurses, doctors, teachers, businessmen, doctors, and many other workers in the public and private sectors. For many other parents, this became the blessing of education, a stool upon which many envisaged their success stories from a tender age, something they took on trust. However much many did not attend school at all or make it far along, the picture of the good fortunes of education remain engrained in them and form a reflex appreciation for education.

The present

These parents are now flooding many UPE schools across the country with their children hoping that they reap the what-could-have-been for them. P1 classes in these schools carry more than 350 pupils at ago. It could be argued that this is apropos of the law that requires all parents to send their children to school. However, the law is just a mere motivator, an attitude modifier in this case. After all, with the lethargic implementation of laws and policies across many sectors in Uganda, one would not quickly award that credit.

It is also very important to note that the majority of children between 4 and  12 in many of these communities attend school; if not a UPE school, then a private school. These efforts of the parents and their commitment to send their children to school earlier on should not fall between the cracks owing to our prejudice.

The parents’ voices

In-home visits intending to interest parents with a new learning program by Teach For Uganda at their UPE school for the P1 and P2 children during this COVID19 pandemic, almost all the parents show very strong interest.

However, much express concern and disapproval for the school choice and many require to be commiserated to earn their commitment to the program.

Many of these parents are quick to do a hatchet job on the school and its administrators.

“We gave up on that school! We prefer the other private school! That headteacher! That deputy! Those teachers!”

Surprisingly, or not, no single parent rebukes the idea and the chance to send their child to learn.

This creates a clear dichotomy and an indication of where the parents’ frustration is directed; which is towards the system rather than education its self.

The UPE challenge

Concerning quality education, UPE in Uganda presents such a conundrum that is no secret to a keen eye.

From its incipient stages, there have existed many misconceptions on what UPE has to offer. The message is and always has been "free education" and from which, many parents expect their children to study and be fed for free in these schools.

However, they find themselves being asked to pay as much as 50,000 UGX to facilitate teachers, students feeding among others -- a clear contradiction as far as they know and expect.

On the other hand, the fruits and outcomes of the UPE system add salt to the wound. The ability to speak English fluently, read and write are the measurable outcomes of a child’s education in Uganda.

However, with the majority of children in the UPE system, especially in rural areas barely demonstrating mastery of those three attributes, parents are left perplexed and thrown hence losing trust in the system.

Overall, the statistics shame a very contentious image of the education system in the country. 8 out of 10 P3 students can not read and understand a P2 English story and two out of 10 P7 students can’t read and understand a P2 English story where five out of 10 P3 -7 students in rural areas can’t pass a P2 mathematics division problem. Calling this a disaster would not be an exaggeration at all.

Many parents who are aware of, or discover later how deficient the UPE system is, take apart from this system and resort to the more productive private school system that has proven to produce better results in the Primary Leaving Examinations.

This phenomenon may partly explain the observed petering number of students in UPE schools from P1 through P7. From a 350 P1 enrollment to a P7 graduating class of only 70 pupils.

A fair share of the blame

Alas, many of the failings along a child’s education course are often blamed on the parents. What share is the parent accountable for in due fairness?

Educating a child in the current economic environment as far as the university is indeed a mammoth challenge for the majority of Ugandans.

The unforgiving financial difficulties together work with the systemic weaknesses and failures too, heighten this challenge for the majority of rural parents.

To wrongfully question the commitment and attitude of these parents is indeed inflicting them a double whammy.

In précis, as one eye is set reprovingly at the parents’ attitude towards educating their children, the other should curiously and consciously focus on the contentious education system set for our children to drudge through.

The author is a fellow at Teach For Uganda