Invest in education, government urged

He commended Uganda for introducing free education, but urged authorities to put much emphasis on the quality of the students churned out.

The Mauritian Minister for Higher Education, Science, Research and Technology has asked the Ugandan government to increase funding to the education sector if it is to achieve meaningful socio-economic transformation.

Dr Rajesh Jeetah, who is on a state visit to Uganda, said Mauritius has made much strides in education because of the huge investments they have put in the sector.

“We have achieved a lot simply because the biggest portion of our budget goes on education and I urge Uganda to borrow a leaf from us,” he said during a press conference in Kampala on Saturday.

Good venture
He commended Uganda for introducing free education, but urged authorities to put much emphasis on the quality of the students churned out.

“We are also offering free education right from pre-primary to university but we take quality very seriously because without it, the whole service becomes a nothing ,” he said, adding their students are ranked top each year for the Cambridge International O-Level, International A and A-Level examinations .”

The minister at the weekend closed the two-day Kampala International Education Fair which was dominated by universities and colleges from Mauritius and also visited Green Hill Academy to get a feel of how teaching and learning is conducted in Uganda .
He said his government’s funding for infrastructure had risen to 4.5 billion rupees ($145.5 million) for both public and private institutions over the last three years.

assenkabirwa@ug.nationmedia.com