Education everywhere is a crucial aspect of upwards mobility and growth within a nation, but this is especially true in Uganda where masses of youth are seeking jobs in a limited market. With one of the highest rates in the world, 83% of Uganda's youth is unemployed.

 

Despite the government making primary and secondary education universal in 1997 and 2007, respectively, the demand for free education is overwhelmed by the quantity of students who cannot afford otherwise (g14). Known as Universal Primary Schools (UPE), these schools are filled with classrooms brimming with more than one hundred students. When combined with teachers often absent to work a second job, education in Uganda is not a guarantee (g62).

 

The next best option are private schools, which are private in the sense that it is not government run. Fees for such schools include paying for the school itself, supplies, and uniforms. These additional costs are another factor that prevent many children from completing their education, and if they do, it is rarely consecutive.

 

The Ugandan school system mimics that of Great Britain with children attending primary school for seven years, concluding in a placement exam for an additional six years in primary school. If students do not pass the exam, often their next best choice are vocational schools like the one produced by Duncan Africa. Programs such as this one allow students to gain crucial skills that better equip them for employment, often though, these programs require (g14).

Types of Schools

There are three primary types of schools in Uganda. Government schools, private day schools, and private boarding schools. The latter two offer a generally better education, improved classrooms and facilities, and higher exam success rates. The difference though is students who do not board often must walk two hours or more to school each morning and again to return home. Boarding schools are the most consistent education, but the least affordable with most rural families earning less than US$2 a day.

 

To attend a university, students must pass their leaving level exams, and to earn a government scholarship they must do so with perfect scores (g62).

Global Partnership for Education (GPE):

Partnered with Uganda since 2011, GPE, coordinated by UNICEF, sees education as a basic human right and as a solution to reducing poverty. With a grant of US$100,000,000, the first grant given to Uganda, will go to improve teacher competency, resources, motivation, and accountability, to establish an environment conducive to such things, and to finance the projects themselves and provide support for the future.

 

GPE also works to "crosscut" issues of HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and gender by "increasing participation, performance, and progress of women and girls in the education system." Additionally, GPE focuses on reducing the vulnerability of personnel and learners to the disease (g13).

Literacy Levels:

Uganda has seen a decline in literacy levels after a rise from 1991 to 2010. According to UNESCO, total literacy levels for those 15 years and older rests at 70.2 percent of the population in 2012. Males are more literate with a 79.2 percent and females are slightly behind with 61.97 percent literacy (g43).