9.2 million Ugandans can’t read, write – Ubos

Data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) shows that at least two out of every 10 Ugandans of 15 years and above cannot read and write.

This means nearly 9.2 million people in the country are illiterate.

The Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS 2022) also reveals that nine percent of women and four percent of men in Uganda have no formal education.

But Mr Didacus Okoth, the spokesperson of Ubos, expressed optimism that this number will continue to decrease as more Ugandans embrace Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE).

“Our progress reports indicate that each year, the literacy levels increase, even among poor communities that have embraced UPE and USE. But we need to address the issue of school dropout to ensure learners complete the education cycle,” Mr Okoth said.

Ms Doreen Ankunda Tumeebaze, the commissioner for Pre-Primary and Primary Education at the Directorate of Education Standards at the Ministry of Education and Sports, said having huge numbers of people who can’t read is a disadvantage to the nation since those affected may not be able to exploit their full potential.

She said the high literacy rates may worsen unemployment, increase the dependency syndrome, and also affect the tax base since illiterate people rarely engage in productive activities that can be taxed.

Ms Ankunda said all the stakeholders, including teachers, should ensure that children who are lagging behind are supported to be at the same level as the rest.

“As the Ministry of Education and Sports, especially as the Directorate of Standards, we believe that every child matters and with extra efforts, every child can achieve,” she said.

“I thank the teachers for the efforts they have put in but, I encourage those who have not improved to put in extra efforts so that every child is able to read and comprehend what they read,” she said.

But Ms Ankunda said there is some improvement in literacy levels despite the challenges cited.

Ubos states that the adult literacy rate for Uganda (15 years and above) increased to 80.6 percent in 2022 from 56.1 percent in 1991, and is growing at an average annual rate of 6.50 percent.

Mr Hussein Mitala, the chairperson of Kamuli District Primary School Head Teachers Association, said the journey of promoting a positive reading culture in Uganda, should start with improving the reading skills of teachers.

“I am not ashamed to say that some teachers have poor reading skills. We need to carry out massive workshops to build capacity for the teachers,” Mr Mitala said.

“What we are experiencing is that learners move from lower levels to candidate class when they have not perceived the skills of reading and interpreting what they are reading. The key thing that we can do is to engage the teachers through refresher training so that they can ably guide the learners,” he added.

Mr Mitala also said another challenge is that most schools have become so competitive that they don’t follow the normal steps in teaching, but rather coach learners to cram what is taught to pass exams.

He said this explains why most learners get stuck when it comes to answering questions that need reasoning, reading and comprehension. 

Interventions

Mr Filbert Baguma, the general secretary of the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), said whereas the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR,) Day had awakened people to spare time and read, it is not widely practiced.

The Ministry of Education and Sports, in partnership with Peace Corps Uganda, on March 26, 2014, launched the national DEAR Day to promote reading and love for learning on a national scale

Mr Baguma suggested that the programme should be a routine that continuously reminds learners to remain interested in reading.

“Some schools may take the DEAR Day as a mere ceremony and it becomes a by the way, and learners may fail to drop everything and read” Mr Baguma said

Baguma also noted that learners and community members, especially those in rural settings and hard-to-reach areas, still lack access to reading materials, which presents yet another roadblock to promoting a culture of reading.

The 2021 Uwezo report indicates that only 39.5 percent of the school children from Primary Three to Primary Seven had acquired competence in reading by the time the survey was conducted.

Mr Baguma said if the pupil-reading materials ratio is not improved, reading will remain a challenge.

Available statistics indicate that the current book-students ratio at primary school level stands at one textbook per 13 learners and two textbooks per learner at secondary school level.

Mr Yokosathat Outa, the head teacher of Kaabong Secondary School, said the idea of DEAR has not yet sunk in well in most schools.

“Reading is not a priority. Schools are examination oriented, they concentrate on topics that are examinable,” Outa says.

Mr Outa said Karamoja Sub-region still needs more support to enable construction of more schools, fenhance feeding programmes, purchase more reading materials, among others so that the region can move at the same pace with the rest of the country.

Mr Outa recommends that schools and the Ministry of Education should consider organising reading competitions and reward the best readers.

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