The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is set to start the baseline education census that is aimed at counting students, teaching and nonteaching staff, support staff and infrastructure in schools at all levels in the education system In Mbarara.
The exercise that will also cover the entire country was launched last month .
“All schools including government and private education institutions especially school owners and head teachers as well as parents are urged to comply with the exercise that will take close to three months," John Igumira, a public relations officer at UBOS told journalists in Mbarara.
“The first ever baseline education in the country aims at obtaining right and accurate information from students, teachers, support staff as well as the infrastructure of the schools from all levels, pre primary, primary, secondary, tertiary and universities."
At the time the exercise that commenced in April paused for the holidays, Kampala metropolitan was concluded and will resume at the start of the second term.
According to Igumira, UBOS is working together with the ministry of education and sports and will recruit enumerators to carry on with the exercise.
“As soon as the second term begins, we will resume the exercise across the country, by April we have finished the Greater Kampala metropolitan, we will recruit enumerators to do this exercise and we urge the schools, parents to welcome them and give accurate information,” Igumira said.
“Being the first ever baseline education, we need accurate information and subsequently we will carry out surveys to ensure updated information about our institutions, it is not a head count, no it will require detailed information from name, age, religion, school location, teacher level of education, marital status, etc.”
With the university's tricky nature of student learning and accommodation, Igumira says, they will have to work with the administration for the student’s information unlike the lower levels where learners will be asked individually.
“For the universities we will work with the administration to have the students and lecturer’s information since it is tricky to gather them all at once, since they all can’t be in class at the same time with some doing weekend and evening program” Igumira said.
He also revealed the plans for the aquaculture census aimed at fish counting, ponds and farmers to enable proper planning for the aquaculture in the country.
“We are also working with the ministry of agriculture and fisheries to carry out the aquaculture census, to know the purpose and the number of people involved in the sector, the ponds, and the fish species all aimed at planning purposes” Igiumira said.
According to Igumira, the census results will be released before the end of the year 2025.