Education in Uganda

The system of education in Uganda has a structure of 7 years of primary education, 6 years of secondary education (divided into 4 years of lower secondary and 2 years of upper secondary school), and 3 to 5 years of post-secondary education. The present system has existed since the early 1960s.

History"'

The education in Uganda is very poor

Mission schools were established in Uganda in the 1890s, and in 1924 the government established the first secondary school for Africans. By 1950, however, the government operated only three of the fifty-three secondary schools for Africans. Three others were privately funded, and forty-seven were operated by religious organizations. Education was eagerly sought by rural farmers as well as urban elites, and after independence many villages, especially in the south, built schools, hired teachers, and appealed for and received government assistance to operate their own village schools. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ugtoc.html Uganda country study] . Library of Congress Federal Research Division. "This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.]

Most subjects were taught according to the British syllabus until 1974, and British examinations measured a student's progress through primary and secondary school. In 1975 the government implemented a local curriculum, and for a short time most school materials were published in Uganda. School enrollments continued to climb throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s, but as the economy deteriorated and violence increased, local publishing almost ceased, and examination results deteriorated.

The education system suffered the effects of economic decline and political instability during the 1970s and 1980s. The system continued to function, however, with an administrative structure based on regional offices, a national school inspectorate, and centralized, nationwide school examinations. Enrollments and expenditures increased steadily during this time, reflecting the high priority Ugandans attach to education, but at all levels, the physical infrastructure necessary for education was lacking, and the quality of education declined. School maintenance standards suffered, teachers fled the country, morale and productivity deteriorated along with real incomes, and many facilities were damaged by warfare and vandalism.

In 1990 adult literacy nationwide was estimated at 50 percent. Improving this ratio was important to the Museveni government. In order to reestablish the national priority on education, the Museveni government adopted a two-phase policy--to rehabilitate buildings and establish minimal conditions for instruction, and to improve efficiency and quality of education through teacher training and curriculum upgrading. Important long-term goals included establishing universal primary education, extending the seven-year primary cycle to eight or nine years, and shifting the emphasis in postsecondary education from purely academic to more technical and vocational training.

Primary education

In 1999 there were 6 million pupils receiving primary education, compared to only 2 million in 1986. Numbers received a boost in 1997 when free primary education was made available for four children per family.

Only some 40% of primary school graduates go on to take any form of secondary education.

econdary education

Three-year technical schools provide an alternative to lower secondary school. Alternatives for graduates from lower secondary school include
* Upper secondary schools; the prominent ones being Namagunga, Kibuli SS, Nabisunsa Girls, German Secondary School Ugand (www.germanschool-uganda.com), Buddo, and Gayaza.
* 2-3 year Technical institutes;
* 2 year Primary Teacher College (PTC) courses
* Department Training Colleges (DTCs).

Post-secondary education

Although 9,000-12,000 students per year leave school qualified to go on to higher education, only some 25% of them are able to find places at the limited number of institutions. Makerere University in Kampala (MAK) accepts some 95% of the total student population in Uganda's universities. The recognised Universities in Uganda include:

Government Universities

*Makerere University (MAK)
*Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST)
*Kyambogo University (KU)
*Gulu University (GU)
*Busitema University (BUSIU)

Religious-Affiliated Universities

* Bugema University
* Busoga University
* Islamic University In Uganda (IUIU)
* Ndejje Christian University (NCU)
* Uganda Christian University (UCU)
* Uganda Martyrs University (UMU)

Private Secular Universities

* Kampala International University (KIU)
* Mutesa 1 Royal University(M1RU)
* Nkumba University (NU)

References

* [http://www.musibasina.co.tz]
* [http://www.mckatuni.com]

External links

* [http://education.nairobi-unesco.org/ UNESCO Nairobi office on education in Uganda]