Some Ugandans and a section of some leaders are not contented with the way government schools are operating since the situation is worsening, hence affecting the teachers and the student themselves.
The UPE and USE schools lack enough facilities such as desks, classrooms, teachers, teaching & learning, poorly constructed and very old structures with no roofs, doors and windows.
The NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu learned that most of the government aided schools are in a poor state with no classroom structures which is forcing teachers to deliver education services to their students under the tree shades of which is very risky to the lives of the students and the teachers as far as their safety is concerned.
This is also affecting their performance in the National examinations as most of the schools have not been getting first grades for more than five years and making at least 88,269(10.4%) candidates ungraded. This is all because of the uncomfortable environment they study in.
The Government aided schools were constructed with a target of helping low income earner citizens, of which it is no longer working out as most of the parents are shifting their children from these schools to private schools,not because they have money but due to the poor facilities that are unfavorable for the students concentration in these government aided schools.
Among the 749,347 candidates who sat for the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations at least 247,728 candidates were from private schools and of which clearly shows that private schools are overtaking UPE schools than it was in 2019 where 695,804 candidates sat for these examinations and 473,893 were UPE beneficiaries, with 221,912 from private schools.
This is because the government is currently focused in participating, promoting and creating a good name by giving an artificial look to the entire education system.
In my own opinion, the government should work on increasing the capitation grant for these government aided schools. When you talk to these school administrators, they will honestly tell you that the biggest challenge they face is the poor facilitation they get from government.
In April 2023, 8.6 millions pupils were registered under Universal Primary Education compared to the three million in 1996 of which is seen as achievement and of which is soon slowing down because of the poor education facilities in the country.
Some parents mobilize themselves and contribute the little they have to construct the temporary structures in some of these schools, but the government and the Ministry of Education have not raised their support to prove that they are all together in the development and sometimes find it a problem to find teachers.
Uganda had 12,433 UPE schools with 136,819 teachers and 8,624,264 learners which means that at least more 70000 teachers were needed to cover the gap in 2023.
It is unfortunate that most of the Ugandans were very happy after the appointment of the first lady Mrs Janet Kataha Museveni as the Minister of Education and for now all citizens are disappointed because of the way how the education system is not improving as they expected.
Uganda was once declared as the 6th country with a good, well arranged and organized education sector, but of which is no longer the case because of the failure to improve the sector as it was in it’s genesis.
The inability of most Ugandan’s not to be able to access good quality education services has negatively affected their parents in-terms of resources since even the fees charges in the private schools are also not affordable.
This scandal shouldn’t be heard in Uganda because Uganda is capable of improving the sector but the leadership has become the cause of everything that is catalyzing the development and growth of our country.
Most of the parishes are standing on only one UPE schools and still the school has no facilities.
Uganda’s education sector is falling behind because the people in power are not considering the common interests of our developing country, but instead they are concentrating on how to enrich themselves more.
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