This week a report came out from Campaign for Education, and many other major supporters, addressing the 60 countries where it is the worst to have a child in school. Unfortunately, Uganda made the list. Not only is it the worst place for a child to get an education in East Africa, it is the eleventh worse in the world.
This week in the newspaper there was an article about the government disputing the validity of the study, saying that they were asking questions of the students that were too difficult and not at level. Perhaps they are right, the questions were too difficult for their students- but compared to global standards, they should not be.
Education is a messy situation in this country. In 1997 Universal Primary Education (UPE) was implemented for a maximum of four children per family, and in 2002 laws were passed for all children to have a free primary education. I wish that “free” were actually the case. Uniforms, books, food, dormitory, and paper/writing utensils are not free. Thus making what should be a free education difficult to attain for the poorest of the country.
Uganda has put into place measures to increase the education level their children receive. Therefore, to be ranked so low in this report is not only a blow to their ego but it is discouraging to see that the efforts they have taken have not increased the quality of the education significantly (at least to global standards).
When I read this article and the conversation about the results, my heart is pained. Over the course of years, much of the issues addressing the developing world do not affect me the way it use to. Development practitioners become numb to the problems as the years pass by. For whatever reason, this report got to me. Perhaps it is because I work with schools, teachers, and children on a daily basis. It is not only a statistic, but it is much more tangible.
I work with the children who cannot read the alphabet in grade three. I work with the children who cannot solve a basic division problem as well. This report is based on government and private schools. I cannot imagine what the statistics would look like if they surveyed non-formal community-based organization run schools. The schools that I work with!
Perhaps this report only reinforces the need to continue the work that my NGO, Fount of Mercy, is doing! Working with teachers and schools to increase their ability to teach the national curriculum well. To give children who will never have the opportunity to go to college, let alone secondary school, the best primary education they can get. I work with teachers to increase their ability to teach, but really so the children gain a better education. One in which is their human right and will better their lives for years to come.
Here are some key statistics in regards to the importance of education according this report:
• The cost of failing to provide a good quality education for all children in poor countries could be as much as $70 billion a year, due to lost economic growth.
• No country has ever achieved continuous and rapid economic growth without first having at least 40% of adults able to read and write.
• An adult who has completed primary education is likely to earn 50% more than an adult who has never been to school.
• A single year of primary school can increase the wages of people earn later in life by 5-15% for boys and even more for girls.
For more statics and information please download the report here: http://www.campaignforeducation.org/docs/reports/1goal/1Goal%20School%20Report.pdf
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