Education

According to the 1989 Report of Education Policy Review Commission on Education for National Integration and Development prepared by the Ugandan Ministry of Education, our educational system continues to call for radical rejuvenation. That report focuses on the achievements and deficiencies of the educational system and recommends cost--effective means of the improving the situation.

At the time when the report was written approximately 48% of the population had never attended school. Of the remaining 52%, many only reached a low level in school and then drop out (especially the girls). Only 5% of the women completed primary level education. Approximately 65% of the women in the country were illiterate.

Following the 1996 elections, President Yoweri Museveni introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE). According to statistics provided by the World Health Organization for 1999, Uganda has a literacy rate of 62%, quite a dramatic change in relatively short period of time.

According to 1996-1998 statistics provided by the Ugandan Minister of Education, there are over 8,600 primary schools, of which 1,088 are within the Archdiocese of Tororo. There were 3,061,722 male and 2,744,633 female students enrolled in schools between 1996 and 1998.

Uganda has over 837 secondary schools, 93 of which were established by the government, 45 established by the Muslims, 216 by the Church of Uganda, 151 by the Roman Catholic Church, 199 by parents, and 126 by others. The male student population is estimated to be over 158,000, with the female student population amounting to 108,000. Approximately 69% of these students are day scholars, while 15% live in hostels and another 16% attend boarding schools. Within the Archdiocese of Tororo there are approximately 148 secondary schools.

The Ministry of Education statistics (1996-1997) augur well for post-secondary school education. There were at that time approximately 12,000 male and 6,000 female undergraduate students. There is one Islamic university with the Archdiocese of Tororo.

At the graduate level there were 1600 male and 500 female students (1996-1997 statistics). The student body—both full-time and part-time—at Technical Colleges and Colleges of Commerce included approximately 3,041 male and 1,135 female students (1996-1997 statistics).

The student population at the National Teachers Colleges was estimated to be approximately 4,000 males and 1,500 females. It is reported that 9,291 primary school teachers were graduated in 1999. Of these, 5,367 were male and 3,924 female.

The statistics for Pre-Service Teachers in Training indicated that 10,739 males and 9,989 females were in training at the time of the report. The report also noted that there were approximately 3,001 male and 1,370 females licensed, but untrained, teachers practicing.

According to the 1996-1998 statistics, Uganda had 5,926 male and 1,093 female students attending Technical Schools. In addition, there were 9,133 male and 1,620 female students at Technical and Vocational Institutes, with an additional 997 male and 1,177 female students attending Private Vocation and Technical Institutes. At the present time, we are most encouraged progress that has been made in the field of education in Uganda. We anxiously await newer statistics which hopefully will confirm our optimism. Despite the progress, it is estimated that approximately 48% of the secondary schools students do not remain to graduate, often for lack of school fees. The government is making plans to provide free secondary education, which should make a significant difference.

The archdiocese believes that, in addition to the changes in primary and secondary education, proper training, such as short-term courses in useful trades, e.g., agriculture, carpentry, masonry, and home crafts, will greatly alleviate the economic chaos in Uganda. Furthermore, much of the present waste of potential man- and woman-power can be salvaged through a similar approach at the adult level: programmes directed to those beyond the usual school years can quickly enable members of this group to become more self-sufficient and thus bring to them a sense of their true worth, a development of their whole being.

As a church we feel obligated to do all we can to enhance the quality of education in cooperation with the present govern-mental efforts. Our church-founded and private schools, such as St. Pius X Seminary (Nagongera), St. James Seminary (Achilet), St. Paul's College (Mbale), St. Anthony's Technical School (Budaka), Osia, St. Benedict's Priory (Tororo) and Mulagi Technical School, are a beacon of hope in this regard.