Government shifts focus to boost quality of education

The government will refocus its efforts on improving the quality and relevancy of education in the financial year starting July, after it recorded improved enrolment in school since the introduction of universal education.

A total of Shs1.8trillion—13.3 per cent of the total Budget—was allocated to the education sector for the financial year 2013/14 compared to Shs1.6 trillion (14.6 per cent) in the previous year.
Ms Maria Kiwanuka, the Finance minister, yesterday said this allocation would go towards imparting the necessary skills and knowledge required to tap the creative abilities of individuals, in order to enhance society’s wellbeing.

The student loan scheme will aslo be implemented starting with Medicine, Engineering, ICT, and Bachelor of Education Sciences disciplines to increase the number of graduates that can access higher education from free education.

About 5, 000 pioneer students stand to benefit from the programme at Shs4million unit cost and these are expected to increase to 15, 000 students in the second year of the scheme.

“The student loan scheme will be complemented by the bonding of students to government employment after their respective courses, which will serve towards the repayment of the student loan. I have allocated an additional Shs5 billion towards operationalisation of this scheme,” she said.

“Another Shs5 billion will go to the teachers’ Saccos to encourage them to save and improve their access to credit and uplift their welfare,” Ms Kiwanuka said.

Primary school enrolment currently stands at 8.3million pupils compared to 2 million before the introduction of Universal Primary Education in 1996, about 1.3million students in the secondary schools and about 150,000 students in the universities and other higher institutions of learning, compared to 16,350 students and 1,550 students in 1962, respectively.

“The budget priority for 2013/14 will be to improve the quality and relevancy of education and learning by providing adequate infrastructure, training teachers, incentives for the hard to reach areas through a diversified mix of housing, training and professional development,” she said.

The education sector still faces problems of disparities in quality especially between urban and rural schools and gender leading to unequal outcomes in the past years.

Government has for the second time, promised to enhance teachers’ salaries by 15 per cent to improve their morale especially for primary school teachers.

However, the teachers through their umbrella, Uganda National Teachers’ Union, have expressed concern that the increment doesn’t correspond with the rising cost of living.

Mr James Tweheyo, the Unatu secretary general, said low payments have affected the morale of teachers. “If a teacher can’t feed his family or move to the workplace, what do you expect?”
But retired Kampala Bishop David Zac Niringiye says this will remain a dream.

“The teachers are demoralised, pupils enroll but only 30 per cent complete the primary cycle. If the President talks about human resource, where is that investment in education?” he asked.

Unfunded education projects for 2013/14

1. Pre-Primary and Primary Education. There is need to revise unit costs from Shs14,000 to Shs17,000 for 509,600 Primary Seven pupils to cater for cost of living
2. Secondary Education. Secondary Examinations (UNEB) required Shs4.4b to revise unit costs from Shs80,000 to Shs89,650 due for 111, 900 ‘O’-level students to cater for examination costs.
3. Higher Education. About Shs10b is needs to establish Gulu University Constituent College at Lira and infrastructural development to make the University to cater for 150 students of civil engineering, midwifery and public environmental health.
4. Secondary teachers. About Shs5.5b is needed for implementing the scheme of service for 2,000 secondary teachers which will require moving them from salary scale U5 to U4 which requires Shs2.3b and upgrading 1,800 teachers from assistant education officer to education officer from U4 to U3 which needs Shs3.2b.

BUDGET ALLOCATION

Shs1.8 trillion: Amount of money given to the Education sector in 2013/14 Budget, up from Shs1.67 trillion in the previous financial year.

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