Tuesday 10th May, 1994
The Council met at 2.30 p.m. in Parliament House, Kampala.
PRAYERS
(The Vice-Chairman, Al-Haji Moses Kigongo, in the Chair)
The Council was called to order.
MOTION
THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SPORTS (Maj. Amanya Mushega): Mr.
Chairman, and hon. Members of this august House, in July 29th 1987, the Minister of Education
appointed the Education Policy Review Commission through general notice No. 57 of 1987 under
the chairmanship of Prof. Senteza Kajubi to inquire into the policies covering education in
Uganda.
THE CHAIRMAN: Order please.
MAJ. AMANYA MUSHEGA: Mr. Chairman, on July 29th 1987, I am increasing the volume
for those who may need hearing aids. The Minister of Education appointed the Education Policy
Review Commission through General Notice No. 57 of 1987 under the Chairmanship of Prof.
Senteza Kajubi to inquire into the policies governing education in Uganda.
The specific terms of reference of the Commission I will reveal them to the hon. Members just in
case you forgot your document at home; were one, to up-raise the existing system of education
from primary level to secondary tertiary and recommend measures and strategies for improving
the system so that it can (a), progressively embrace as appropriate as a circular and pedagogic
trends, and developments. (b), equip its students with productive and modern marketable skills to
meet the development needs of the economy and promote the employment opportunities for the
students, and see to produce socially responsible citizens.
Two, to review and formulate where necessary the general aims and objectives of the schools
tertiary education system as a whole as well as the aims and objectives of education at each level
of the system.
Three; to advise on the most effective way of integrating academic with commercial and technical
subjects in school curricular in accordance with the resolutions of the 40th International
Conference of UNESCO.
Four, to recommend measures that will improve the management of schools and tertiary
institutions so as to make - maximise cost effectiveness.
Five, to re-access the correct system of financing schools and tertiary institutions, and
recommend measures for reducing costs and improving efficiency in rendering educational
services.
Six; to advise on optimal location of educational institutions throughout the country.
Seven; to advise how if at all schools and tertiary institutions can contribute towards their own up
keep without in bearing academic standards.
Eight; to review the role of qualifying examinations and adequacy of the current methods of
assessment and recommend as appropriate.
Nine; to assess the role of the private sector in the provision of education at all levels.
And Ten; having regard to the tender age at which pupils leave primary schools to review the
structure of the primary and secondary levels by way of age grouping of classes and advise on
necessary or otherwise, of necessity of otherwise of reverting the previous system of
primary/junior secondary on the one hand senior secondary/tardily on the other hand.
The Commission consisted of 28 members including the Chairman, and for purposes of record
and for further debate, let me have their names recorded. Prof. William Senteza Kajubi was
Chairman; Prof. Zavia Wandera, Deputy Chairman; Prof. Mugerwa, the Dean of the Faculty of
Agriculture to Makerere University Member; Mrs. Unia Obuwa Otwa the inspector in the
Ministry Member; Sister Kephas Gomeka, Headmistress Namagunga Secondary School Member;
Mr. A.B. Abaliwano, General Manager Nile Breweries Member; Prof. J.B. Ochiti, Dean Faculty
of Education Makerere University Member; Prof. C.P. Atikol; Head of Commerce Department
Makerere University, Member; Mr. S.K. Busulwa Headmaster Mengo Secondary School at that
time Member; he is now Headmaster of Kings College Buddo; Mr. J.W.N Wamanga, Regional
Inspector of Education Member; Mr. Baryamujura, principle of Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo
Member; Prof. Herbert Nsubuga Dean Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Makerere University
Member; Prof. Apollo Nsibambi, Head Department of Political Science Makerere University
Member, Dr. Frank Nabwiso, Chairman Export Promotion Council Member; Dr. E. Rugujo Dean
Faculty of Technology Makerere University Member, Mr. Patrick Katuramu Principle Assistant
Ministry of Youth and Culture Member, Capt. then, now Maj. Jacob Asiimwe NRM Secretariat
Member, Mr. A.S. Kakembo, Chief Education Officer; Mr. Tom Mugoya, Chief Inspector of
Schools Member; Mrs. J.N. Bitamazire, Deputy Chairman Teaching Service Commission
Member; Mr. Katumba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Member; since deceased, Prof.
Victor Johnson deceased now, Head Department of Science and Technical Education Makerere
University Member; Mrs. I. Tarinyeba, Headmistress Bweranyangi Girls Schools Member; Mr.
Dan Sentamu Ag. Director National curriculum Development Centre Member; Mr. A. K. TwineObusingye, Principal Uganda College of Business Studies Kabale Member; and A.P. Okongo,
Assistant Chief Education Officer, Planning, Statistics Unit Member and Secretary to the
Committee.
They were drawn from the Government, parastatal bodies and educational institutions. The
Commission was assisted by a number of educationists and experts who served on various
Committees to deal with different levels and types of education. The Commission submitted its
report on 30th January 1989 to the then Minister of Education hon. J. Mayanja Nkangi.
The purpose of this paper is to state precisely government’s response to the report and to indicate
recommendations which maybe acceptable for implementation by government, and to outline the
proposed implementation approaches and wherever visible indicate sources of funds and other
resources as well as resources saving measures that will necessarily - that will be necessary or
possible in the implementation process.
Therefore, it is a long period since the government White Paper on the Education Policy Review
Commission report was tabled in the National Resistance Council hon. Members of the NRC
have had ample opportunity the document and analyse its contents. More importantly, the public
at large has been very responsive and has made positive contributions through the Press, seminars
and workshops. The Minister of Education and Sports in particular was able to hold a two day
workshop with District Administrators, Chairmen of RC V throughout the country and District
Education Officers on 14th and 15th of January, 1993 at the Institute of Teachers Education
Kyambogo (ITEK).
Another successful one-day conference for religious leaders was held at the International
Conference Centre on the 21st of July 1993. Many others have held seminars, women graduates,
tardily institution, non-government organisation, and even individuals. Some of these proposals
will be considered at the drafting stage when legislations are being considered when the Paper
passed. All these initiatives were intended to offer opportunities for making recommendations
that would improve on some of the aspects of the Government White Paper on the Education
Policy Review Commission Report of 1989.
Five years is quite a long time. For, all those who take education seriously have reacted on both
the report and the Government White Paper that was published in April 1992. The debate on the
Government White Paper already tabled before the National Resistance Council is therefore, long
overdue or rather timely now. Government’s overall policy on education has contained in the
White Paper is that Uganda must hence force seek to establish the highest quality of education
possible, as the basis for fundamental change revolution and National Development. This
education ought to be purposeful and deliberately designated ensure that it is relevant, accessible,
equitable and affordable by the majority of the Ugandan population. This education ought to
address the social, cultural, economic and political needs of Ugandans in the Uganda context
without losing sight of the International Community on the principle of inter-dependence.
However, aware of the limited available resources for the development programmes in education,
it is incumbent up on government and the people of Uganda to consciously rely a great deal more
on the people’s or initiatives imaginativeness, creativity and efforts as well as the national
resources in carrying out these development programmes. Government further recognises the
central role that the teacher and teacher education play in the entire education system; in this
aspect government fully adopts the intention expressed by the Policy Review Commission in their
conclusion on chapter 8 on teachers and teacher education. They said and I quote, ‘no education
system can be better than the quality of its teachers, nor can a country be better than the quality
of its education.’
To this end, the development and implementation policies on resource allocation to different
sectors, manpower development and management, as well as teachers terms and conditions of
service or to take into account this important intention.
Permit me to make some quotations from an important report; A nation’s welfare ultimately
depends more on the quality of individuals than on its economic structures. The future of Uganda
will be decided by the capacity of the men and women to accept personal responsibility to cooperate as well as to lead, to think as well as to work, to place respect for all integrity of mind
and neighbour clarity, as high in their scale of values as productive skills and material
possessions.’
Further down in the report, but we have also to recognise the obstacles that hinder the smooth
process of our planning. Poverty, ignorance and conservatism are likely to retard advance
towards the better fade and better-educated nation. Unemployment awaits a thirdly high
proportion of school leavers, and only serves to aggravate problems we are striving to solve.
Despite the scarcity of jobs for the young, the majority turn away from their land as reasonable
sources of livelihood. Because they see in farming and other manual work only unrewarded
round of toil. We do not blame the young for so regarding what must be inevitably be a major
activity in Uganda for they share an attitude endangered by too high proportion of their parents
and by the economic situation in which they find themselves. One of our tasks is to prove to
those we educate that skilled manual work and progressive farming so far rewards equal to those
and this is in quotes ‘in cleaner occupations.’ This is as much a duty of those engaged in
economic and social planning as it is for those who teach.
To combat these advance influences, I am still reading the report and create an educational
structure that will ensure up to the moral and economic need, the people of Uganda have to make
the most restricted resources. The national budget is limited to the productive capacity of the
people which is not at present as high as can be; the quality and extent of schooling are dependant
on an adequate teaching force whose enlargement and improvement are not the work of a day or a
year. The provision of more schools and better equipment has to be paid for. There are things to
change, things to preserve and new things to create in Uganda, if Uganda is to build on the
foundation of her best traditions and most relevant experience. We were more seriously
concerned at situations we observed where one teacher was asked to teach anything between from
sixty (60) to seventy five (75) children in a room equipped for 30. This type of situation should
not be permitted.
In all countries of the world, other tempts to devise a primary education system for the whole
people resulted in an over emphasis on the three Rs, and an over-simplified and mechanic
approach to teaching and learning. Teaching was regarded as talking, and writing on the
blackboard, while learning was supposed to consist of listening, copying from the blackboard and
committing a material to the memory. In these circumstances the ideal class was equated with
rows of child silent motionless children and the whole classroom atmosphere was academic.
Verbal rather than real cut off from the living interest of childhood with emphasis on passivity
rather than activity. The result was that certain aspects of education just as important as the 3Rs
were neglected. Notably, the physical growth of the child and emotional development, which
results from work in arts and crafts and training of the youth in the spoken word.
In our view, primary education in Uganda has not yet emerged from the historical phrase
described above, it is for this reason that we wish to lay special emphasis on the fact that children
learn by being active, by doing, by having extra experience involving all their senses by
discovering, by experimenting and above all, by thinking and talking. This view of the teaching
process must be communicated in a very possible way to parents, teachers and headteachers until
they are convinced of its truth. It must be acquired by teachers in training as much as by practice
as by precept.
If these attitudes cannot be communicated, then we shall continue on the lines deplored by the
Assistant Director General of UNESCO who said and I quote; ‘The complete waste and fertility
of the school programme for the African child and the adolescent can only be seen to be
delivered, and what I have seen is the qualitative waste of the child’s mind and the breaking of
his spirit.’ And this pseudo illiteracy has bad effects when children learn English with little
ability to understand what they read or think for themselves in the language.
I wish to stress once again, the importance of more child-centered learning that we have
mentioned above, and especially, the children must be given an opportunity to think and to put
their thoughts into speech before they are asked to write.
If I had your powers, I would ask a question, is this report of yesterday or many years ago? And I
presume those for yesterday would have it, but these are extracts from the Council reports which
was presented to the then Government in 1963 and which formal the basis of the educational
system we have been having since then, and if you read further on, you will think that they are
describing the situation of yesterday. Hon. Abu Mayanja was a member of that Commission.
Having disclosed the source, I will just quote this last to show that things have not been easy
neither have we been lying idle. It talks on school fees and I would like other Members behind
me to note. At present, fees in primary and junior secondary classes vary greatly, sometimes
being as low as 10 shillings in primary one and as high as 250 in junior secondary. In the
proposed new structure, we consider it very important that children who enter primary one should
remain in school until P.7 and we are concerned lest any sudden rise in fees in the top classes of
the school might cause major wastage.
We, therefore, recommend that attempts be made to keep fees as uniform as possible and that if
increases are to be made from class to class, they should be carefully graduated. So even Sir, in
the old good days, 10 shillings was as difficult as the thousands are today.
I will now, Mr. Chairman, and distinguished Members move to the major highlights in this
government White Paper. I am not going to comment on all fully aware that hon. Members who
have been on a long recess have read and read the document. Mine is suffering from wear and
tear of handling and I am sure yours have suffered so much that you could not bring them here
because they must be in tatters, meaning that all the facts contained in those documents are now
fully engraved in your very able brilliant brains.
Primary education, is extremely important. Maybe I should start here with a story. There was a
rich millionaire in America who put up a structure of more than 50 storeys and when he was in
his top office, he noticed cracks and he summoned the engineer and all the people involved in the
putting up of that building to explain why there were cracks at the 50th floor where he was
seated. Then he waited for the engineers and the surveyors, they did not show up and when he
was going down to raise hell, he met them coming from the basement and he asked them why had
they gone to the basement when the problem was on the 50th floor? They answered that they
wanted to check with the basement first because the cracks at the top might have been caused by
the faults at the bottom.
So, some of the problems we may be having in our educational system may have their beginning
in the inadequacies of our primary cycle and that is why we are starting with it. Primary
education - if a nation achieves basic education, a number of advantages are obvious. First, the
nutrition and hygiene of the nation goes after an entry.
I was reading a report recently by Makerere University and the Ministry of Health which said that
the Uganda children between the ages of one and five on the national average, 44 per cent are
stunted; they are stunted not because there is not enough food in Uganda but because of our
parents may not know which food to give to the children at that particular age and we are
informed that when the child’s body is stunted, it also affects the growth of the brain. But since
there are hon. doctors here, I may make a joke that when we are campaigning, one of my friends
said that he is not a Medical Doctor but a Doctor of Wisdom. So now, I am sure we shall benefit
from both the medical doctors and the doctors of wisdom.
So, by sending children to getting basic education alone, you immensely increase the health and
the nutrition of the country. These are studies indicating where these things have been one.
There is better health, there is reduced fertility for women and improved maternal and child
health. It is also to make the nation adopt easily to modern technology. It also levels the ground
because at the moment, we may be fighting for the scholarships at the tertiary level. But when
only 30 per cent of the population is free to compete and it is only that population may be which
has come from able homes at the primary level and I have occasion to say here before I want to
repeat it that brains and wealth are not always hands in gloves. We have seen children of
professors fail P.7 and those of ignorant peasants score 4. So, there is no leveling of the ground
since we have been talking about leveling the ground without availing basic education to the
majority of our people; we are not leveling the ground when it comes to competition for
scholarships abroad and tertiary education.
As some of you may have experienced recently, illiteracy and poverty are bad for democracy.
We are thinking that it must be a national goal that as many children as possible and preferably in
the medium term, all the children of Uganda should at least get access to basic education. These
children are too young to know and too scattered to demonstrate for their needs. So, who will
know for them and who will study and demonstrate for them? It is my earnest appeal that this
august House goes down in history as the one that laid the foundation to enable as many children
of our population and all the children of Uganda to get access to basic education for the
development of our country.
We should cast a net wide so that every child of Uganda gets an opportunity. In the Paper we are
accepting the recommendations of the Commission and proposing to this august House that the
primary cycle be moved from seven years to eight years. The reasons are simple. For a good
period to come, primary education will be terminal with the majority of our people. The current
figures are enrolment in primary is alone 50 per cent and of the children who should start P.1,
only 78 and those who start P.1 only 34 finish and I use the word ‘finish’ deliberately, not past to
understand but finish P.7.
So, by availing every Uganda child an opportunity to finish eight years of education, it will be
immense contribution to uplifting the standard of living of this country and obviously democracy
will be the biggest harvester in this situation. We are also proposing that education once it starts,
it should be compulsory and we are proposing this really for discussion. We would like
enrichment because this is a gray area and nobody can claim to be the expert in what should be
done at the primary level. But we should start providing compulsory primary education not at
primary one but at primary four and I will give the reasons so that you can also give better ones
and we shall be ready to adopt the best reasons.
The proposal is that, education should be compulsory but not free for everybody. The reasons are
simple that it is good politics and it is excellent especially when we are attracting the attention of
the masses to say that let everybody go to school and goes free. But when you say something is
free for you, there is somebody who is paying for it. Are the resources of the country now able to
sent every child to school and keep it there and pay for it, pay the teachers, raise the exercise
books, raise the textbooks, put up the classrooms and everything that is needed for compulsory
education? From my own investigations, the answer is simple that our economic position at the
moment, great potential as it is, is incapable of handling this.
So the proposal by government for your discussion is, people who are able for example, like hon.
Wanendeya, should be compelled to send their children to schools and pay for them because we
have a lot of people in Uganda who are capable of keeping their children at primary level without
government assistance. Let those stay. Then we have a number of people who are capable of
working, who are capable of earning a living, but they are being told to sit back, some of them are
engaged in activities by 10.00 O’clock people are already relaxed and enjoying a straw of ‘ajono’
or a glass of waragi, that any efforts should be made to make these citizens work in order to be
able to afford some, if not all of their children’s education at the primary level. Then those who
are not able to afford at all like orphans and the children of the disabled, then all efforts are put in
place to ensure that those children go to school. It is a pragmatic approach. It is not a traditional
approach because a traditional method may not work here. It will be easy to make free and
compulsory education for all but to fulfill for the years to come will be very difficult because
even if you deported the whole budget of the nation to primary education at the moment from our
calculations, it would not be sufficient to meet it yet there are hidden resources within our country
which could be tapped and used.
Why are we proposing to start at primary four? We are proposing to start at primary four, one, in
order to enable the government and the community to progressively avail the resources that are
necessary. For example, in 1992, we had 86,821 primary school teachers, this includes the
licensed what means the untrained. This year, we have around 87,000 teachers in the primary
circle. In 1992 all the children of Uganda were to go to school, that was 4,210,215 that is
between the age of six and 12 and of course you are from the up-country, you know that even
men of 17 are in the primary circle. So, if you include those capable candidates, the figure is
much higher than this. But here we are talking of the traditional figure of the children between
the age six and 12 for the primary. That would mean using an average of one teacher for 40
students and one classroom for every 40 students. In 1992, we would have needed 100,530
teachers and we had only on the ground 86,000. In 1993, the capable children were 4,845,562;
that would have needed 121,139 and for this year, we would need 145,973 to take care of all the
children in the country and at the moment, we do not have that capacity. But if we start at
primary four, that gives us room to prepare to build more classrooms with the support of local
communities and train more teachers so that every year, more and more children get access to
school.
The second reason will also allow the country to prepare the necessary teaching materials. The
third reason is that it will enable hon. Members of Parliament and other civic leaders to carry out
mobilisation campaigns for the population to value the necessity and absolute importance of basic
education for the development of our families and the development of our people.
I was reading a report recently comparing the work habits of the people around the globe. If you
take 100 hours as a block available for time to work and have leisure in countries like Japan, out
of 100 hours, they spend between 80 and 85 working and between 20 and 25 for leisure. In
Africa, we spend between 80 and 85 for leisure and 20 to 15 hours for work of course excluding
the women. The men bring down the average because they put in more.
So, if you are to take the average a rural man, some of them have zero hours of work and it is
absolutely necessary if we are going to build this country that a deliberate campaign is carried
out, that if you do not work, you are going to find it difficult to achieve results and I think St. Paul
was writing to one of the people there in the Middle East and he warned them that really if you do
not work, it will be hard to eat. And if you look around Africa, the picture is very common. We
are net beggars of food when maybe 30, 40 years ago, we were self-sufficient in food. So, this
will enable all the civic leaders including the religious and temporal to carry out a campaign so
that our people can value the importance of education, invest in education in terms of money, in
terms of labour and in terms of resources.
The third reason for starting at primary four, when we look at the dropout rate, the figures show
that the primary four is an active area. You who are from the rural areas, you will find in primary
one, there are as many girls and many boys in the classroom, maybe the classroom is 40, even 50,
60 students. The same for primary two. When you reach three, they begin to drop out. At
primary four, you find the class is almost half of what it was at primary one. That is the cliff
hanger when it comes to the drop out rate.
So, our own view was that if we could start assisting the parents at primary four as a starting
point, this may give hope to those parents who are about to pull out their children in P.3. to know
that if I can push a stop ahead and I am unable, then government will come to my assistance at
the level of primary four. It will mean that government will take on primary four, then next year
primary five, the following year primary six and seven until eight, then come back to three and
then on primary one will be the last to be tackled.
Finally, the reason we are avoiding primary one is that you may be stuck there for the next 10, 15
years. So, if primary one is free tomorrow, even men have read in the papers men of 60 going
back to school because we have no law saying that you must go to school when you are six and it
will be unjust to deny a young boy of 13 from starting school simply because we are using
magical figures of six years. So, we think if you start with primary one, everybody may turn up
and will be stuck in P.1 for the next five to ten years without making any upward mobility.
So, that is the proposal about universal primary education. How do we propose to finance
primary education? Through local and external support. They are not in their order of
importance. To introduce a system of education taxed at the local authorities level, some of them
are already doing so but we would like it to be formalised. To allow parents who may contribute
labour or things in kind to contribute to education of their children. When I visit these rural
schools, this is already in place. You find some parents are growing cabbages and they sell them
to the schools and then they defray the costs. Some of them come and make bricks for the school
and then they deduct the equivalent in terms of school fees because our people may have some of
these things but not something money; that parents and students and their local communities
should make a contribution and also carrying out cost reduction methods.
I remember I mentioned this at Kansanga when we were opening a primary school there and one
of the local papers put a cartoon that we are saying it you cannot find a chalk, write with your feet
or something like that. But I will give you an example of the cost reduction method. I have
visited a number of schools and we have encourages them instead of going to buy hundred and
hundreds of these Phillips school maps which the children destroy in no time, some of the schools
have been getting aggregates and cement and sand and then they mould maps of the districts,
maps of Uganda, maps of East Africa, maps of Africa and maps of the world; on the ground, with
all the topography of features indicated and when the teacher wants to teach the geography of
East Africa, part of it, the children come there, they are taught and they go back to their class.
Some of them have painted all the walls outside with pictures of the eye, the blood circulation
system, the skeleton, the lungs so that when it is time for teaching the fish or teaching the leaf, the
children are taken out and on the wall of the school the lesson is carried out.
This is just an example of what we refer to as post-production method and the impact is not
different, I have seen some of these schools even improve on their performance, then the few
marks can be there as additional because at the moment, we may not afford a map for every child
from primary five to primary eight but some of these schools have done it and we visited them
and we found that their performance is quite high.
The Community Service Scheme which we shall refer to later, could be geared towards UPE so
that when out students to out to carry community development schemes, they engage in putting in
place provisions for primary education, that will be in terms of making bricks, putting up
structures by those students who are in technical institutions so that progressively we increase the
number of class-rooms available so that eventually all our children go to school.
Another measure is to shift government financing slightly from emphasizing at the tertiary level
and put greater emphasis at the bottom of the pyramid. I will be discussing this one later and I
hope that all those who are interested in jumping on the roads could engage in democratic debate
so that we can build a civilised nation.
Finally, on this measure, is to shift and put emphasis and we shall be mentioning this throughout
the course of this paper to put emphasis on the teacher, the training of the teacher, the equipment
of the teacher and the welfare of the teacher because we in the Ministry of Education believe that
if you have a happy teacher, you are likely to have a happy classroom. If a child came soaked by
rain and he finds a dry teacher with his notes, the teacher is likely to give encouragement to the
child that do not worry, even Mzee Haji Kigongo used to walk through the rain and he is now
Vice-Chairman of NRC via the bush. But if he finds a teacher who is desolate and really in bad
shape, they even scare away children from the class.
So, we think the teacher should be the central figure in the provision of education and the
government should put its primary concern and emphasis on the teacher, his welfare, his training
and the teaching tools.
The other element connected with primary education is the language quality and we are proposing
that children at the early stage should learn in their mother tongue, from primary one to primary
four but being taught English as a language and then from primary five to primary eight the
teaching should be conducted in English and then the local languages taught as subjects but those
who are in the urban areas where the cultures are over mixed, then they should resort to the use of
English language from the early stages. I think this is an area most of honourable Members are
familiar with.
So, that is the end of my comments on basic education with special emphasis on this question of
having compulsory primary education in the initial stages but not free for everybody. Then as the
economy improves those governments, which will be, there when the economy is much brighter
can now go for not only compulsory but free education so that we do not end up deceiving the
parents and the community that we are giving them something which at the moment may not be
feasible.
The second element I will comment upon is the area of known form and adult education. This is
critical, we are proposing to create a department within the Ministry of Education and shift this
portfolio from Community Development Education because that is where the resources are. If
you want to carry out literacy campaigns, it is done by the teachers and the students and the
controlling ministry is the parent ministry. This is to help some of our people who have not had
access to education, formal education, receive in form education through literacy campaigns.
Also, there are those who may have limited education and they want to improve on education,
this should also be available and there are those who have got education and they want to
improve on their skills, this also should be done by this directorate so that we have a system of
continuous or life long education and we intend that at this stage, the private sector and industry
would be involved especially at the level of giving vocational skills.
The third element, is in vocationalisation of education. The main purpose here, as I read the
Castle Report of 1963 which I am sure most of my colleagues may have for they were describing
the situation of yesterday, is to impart relevant skills and improve the attitude of our youngsters to
identify and associate with the dignity of labour that without labour, you can have no meaningful
development. Hoping that in the process there will be co-ordination between the various
departments and industry so that improved methods and tools of production are also
manufactures.
The Community Service Scheme is the comment number four. This is to enable our children
contribute to the development of their country right from the primary level up to the tertiary level
and we are proposing a staggered area; after primary seven, you make a contribution, after O’
level you make a contribution; after A’ level you make a contribution and after tertiary
contribution and it is proposed that if somebody has not done the Community Service Scheme,
then they should not be allowed to continue with their next level of education unless if there are
satisfactory reasons. This also will be very critical of the development of the country but also if
well harnesses to contribute to the eventual provision of facilities for universal primary education
for the majority of our people. Mr. Chairman, I hope that some of the papers will not be reporting
that I am easting. (Laughter)
The fifth level of comment which I would also put some emphasis is the Secondary Level of
Education. The Paper is adopting the Report of the Commission that we should move away from
the Seven years, four years, and two years up to tertiary and shift eight years primary, three years
O’ Level and two years A’ Level. The reason they are proposing and we accepted is that, since
Primary or Basic Education is terminal at the moment for the majority of our children and it is
likely to be so in the foreseeable future, we should put as much emphasis on this to their
performance in life to get basic education and skills on which they can build.
The second reason is that in S.1 now, and actually they have just gone to school now, that usually
S.1 is used for orientation in schools and when I read the names of the Commissioners you could
see that there were a lot of experts who teach in primary and secondary schools, that instead of
that year which is more or less wasted in the senior area, it be shifted to primary where it can be
maximally used and then the experts think that the current curriculum can be taught in three years
and all of you have been to O’ level schools, you may recall that the real teaching starts in senior
three and become hectic in senior four.
The second emphasis at this level is that Uganda has been used to the boarding schools system, it
has been good for our people but also it has denied a lot of our children access to education. Our
current calculations in the Ministry is that it costs at least three times as much to send a child to a
boarding school, equipped boarding school, it is a question of cost not a question of being
romantic with the situation or fashionable, it is just purely a question of being pragmatic and cost
effective.
So, the proposal is that in future schools to be founded by the government and aided by the
government, the government should concentrate on the pedagogical areas of education, that is the
support of the teacher and the teaching facilities, the putting up of classrooms, laboratories and
libraries and staff houses and leave the clothing and eating and transportation to the parent.
Those parents who are unable their children walk to school and back. Those who think that it is
inconvenient and they can afford it, then they provide out of their own pockets for the boarding
school elements. This will be a slow disengagement not a sudden one so that all our students
both in day and boarding schools are equally treated by their parents and the government.
At the secondary school level also except in special cases of course, there will be cases like in the
areas where there are nomads a day school may not be very practical and we have discussed this
with members of staff at length or areas where children may be incapacitated if a child is a cripple
you cannot expect him to walk to and fro school every morning.
So, in special cases provision by the government may be made for boarding facility for those
children who actually need it. The main reason is that, if we were to send as many children to the
secondary schools as possible, then we must try to make education as cheap and as affordable as
our resources can master because at the moment as I mention to you, the dropout rate at primary
is very high and one of the main reasons they give is that the parents have failed to raise the Shs.
4,000 to Shs. 10,000 a year for the child to go to primary school. I cannot see how a parent who
has failed to raise Shs. 10,000 a year for primary can afford Shs. 250,000 for a boarding school as
some of them are charging recently but we will soon be taking measures in that area as well. So,
those who can afford, let them go to boarding schools, those who cannot, let the government
emphasize the day school element as the most cost effective method of providing education to our
children. Of course, the considerations may be given to women if need arises.
Continuous Assessment. That is our sixth area of comment. The White Paper is recommending
that this system of subjecting a child who has been in school for eight years and this whole future
is decided in a stretch of three hours, is rather not very professional. So, they are proposing a
system of continuous assessment at regular intervals with uniform approach and then having the
final exam and the continuous assessment scores put together for the child’s future to be decided
as to whether he is a good performer or a bad performer.
The seventh area of comment is technical and vocational education. Skilled labour is critical for
attracting both foreign and domestic investment. In order to produce quality goods to compete
both on the local and international market, we need skilled labour, skilled people and this will
help with skilled labour, it will help us to convert our potential wealth into actual wealth and if
you may recall hon. Members, the Castle Report was talking that Uganda’s wealth is still
potential not actual wealth. I think the situation some thirty years later is still the same that the
potential is great especially around Ssese Island but the wealth is not yet realised.
The second element in this proposal for technical and vocational education is to change the
negative attitude of our people towards these skills and attract their material with the right
attitude. Technical education will cease to be terminal so that if one attains a certain level of
education they can continue even up to the degree level. There will be some elements to coordinate with industries so that the products are relevant to the consumer. There will be a
development of relevant curricular and incentives to students engaged in technical education so as
to attract more in that area. Here by incentive, we mean that if they go out and carry out some
work during their training then they sell the products the students also should share in what they
have produced with their staff and actually this is already being done.
Finally, there is a planned merger of the Institute of Teacher Education at Kyambogo, the Uganda
Polytechnic at Kyambogo and the National College of Business Studies at Nakawa, so that they
can form one constituent, one polytechnic with constituent colleges with a possibility of
beginning to award degrees with a practical bias. Some of the people are not easy about it but we
think this will be the best of first harnessing our resources. For example, if there is a student
taking a technical education course at Kyambogo and he just wants to take one or two lessons in
bookkeeping it is not possible. He must now and re-register at Nakawa after graduation but if it
is one college, it will be easy to do cross fertilisation and one student who is majoring in college,
will be able to go and acquire the relevant skill he needs or she needs from the other institution.
The eighth area of comment, is teacher education. As I mentioned earlier we want to make the
teacher the cornerstone of our educational system. As you may recall, teachers have been
neglected for a long time and at one time, it was a curse to be a teacher and most people were
saying, ‘Nasoma wa’ that he never went to school but here I am. I am glad to report that this
attitude is progressively being changed. We should like to concentrate on the training of the
teacher, the curriculum at all levels, pre-service and in-service facilities. To improve the facilities
where the teachers are trained, the welfare when they have graduated and also avail teaching and
reading materials. And we would like to have a policy of encouraging local authors and
publishers so that the materials which you consume at the moment cease to be produced from
abroad and they are produced by our own people at home.
We are also proposing continuous training, the up-ward mobility, somebody can start as a
primary teacher, be a Grade V teacher, get a degree, even hold a Ph.D and continue to teach in a
primary school. You do not have to go to Makerere because you have a Ph.D. and have a Ph.D in
primary methods and even earn more than somebody with one degree being a superior assistant at
the institution of high learning so that this system is encouraged and we are also proposing
promotional ladders so that the teacher in a classroom can get promotion without struggling or
waiting for the headmaster to retire or die so that he can go to the next ladder. The whole purpose
is to make the teaching profession noble, attractive and beneficial to the nation and those who are
engaged in it.
I come to another area which is not as critical as it is but when you have a vocal minority
sometimes you think that they are real people who really run the world. And that is tertiary
education. The proposal on tertiary education. Tertiary education here, there are many
institutions, we have now two government supported Universities, the University of Makerere
and the University of Science and Technology at Mbarara. We have the Islamic University in
Mbale and we have to private Universities, the Uganda Martyrs’ University at Nkozi and the
Christian University of East Africa at Ndejje and there are many more in the offing. We have
these major institutions around Kampala, UPK, ITEK and Nakawa. We have 10 National
Teachers Colleges, which take only people who have completed S.6 and get diplomas to come
and teach in our secondary schools. We have got four Uganda Technical Colleges, which train
our middle level skilled manpower, and we have got five National Colleges of Commerce which
are graduating our students in business and marketing and other related areas.
So, when we talk of tertiary education, we are referring to levels of education beyond A’Level
and we should not limit to one or two institutions. The enrolment at the moment is over 20,000 in
all those institutions. If I could get the paper, I will give you the breakdown a bit, if I do not get it
quickly, I will refer to it at a later stage. Makerere University has an enrolment of 6,440; Mbarara
University has an enrolment of 207; ITEK has an enrolment of 993; NTC Kabale 438; NTC
Kakoba 714; NTC Kaliro 1,146; NTC Masindi 537; NTC Mubende 575; NTC Munni 613; NTC
Nagongera 426; NTC Ngetta 947; NTC Mitala Maria 452 and NTC Unyama 434; making a total
of 7,275. UPK 779; UTC Lira 398; UTC Bushenyi 366; UTC Elgon 402 and UTC Kichwamba
429 making a total of 2,371. Nakawa has 1,300; UCC Aduku 674; UCC Pakwach 532; UCC
Soroti 415; UCC Tororo 200; making a total of 3,588. If you total this, they are roughly 20,000
students in tertiary institutions, Makerere having roughly 7,000 students in its borders.
The colonial administration which introduced formal education in the country encouraged elitist
system for a few who would help in the administration of the time and when Independence came,
because of the shortage of skilled administrative manpower, the concentration was to train
administrative manpower to take over the positions left over by the colonial officers. Both
systems never addressed itself to mass education for our people. In the 1970s it was not possible
and in the 1980s life was a little bit too busy for most people. This is the opportunity to begin to
plan for education for the masses of our people so that we avoid the current state of enrolment.
For example, at the moment, the support for education, what we have been spending on a single
child at various levels. In 1990, we spent shillings 2,128/- per child into primary level, 10,823/at the secondary, 138,000 at Teacher Education and 458,000/- at the University level. That
means in 1988/89, 1989/90 for every - we spent 215 times as much as on the student at the
tertiary level as we did at the primary level. In 1991/92 it was reduced, the primary child got
6,153/- and the University child got 967,077/- meaning that for every child at primary, the one at
University got 158 times as much. And in 1987, it was 301.
So there has been marked improvement in this area. But the enrolment is rather embarrassing.
For example, if we are to raise the necessary man-poor required - since Makerere started, the
figures are very small. So, I have to assist my system. I am talking about manpower
requirements for the country.
Since, Makerere started, the figures are very small. So, I have to assist my system. I am talking
about manpower requirements for the country. Since Makerere became a University in 1970,
from 1970 when it became a University, it was a University College before. From 1970 to 1992,
it has graduated a total of 2213 graduates in Bachelor of Arts; Education and it had graduated
Bachelor of Science Education only 1182 and had graduated doctors 1641. So, this is quite an
embarrassing situation. If we are to have enough manpower to man the resources necessary and
since Makerere started in 1970 as a University, it has graduated 25,303 graduates altogether and
if I may caution you, in Kenya now, which was years behind us, it has an enrolment of over
40,000 at any given time in their national universities; before you put on the private universities
and our enrolment at Makerere is just 7000, yet the world will not wait for us because we will
argue that Kenya was okay when we were unstable but the demands of the population have not
shifted simply because they had emerged from war. They still need clean water, and they need
enough food, and the critical manpower for the management of the economy and masses if this
country is going to build on the foundation of this basic education, there must be something done
to make it possible for as many students as possible to get access to tertiary education.
Last year or this year, I think it was last year, 9200 students passed their A’levels with 2
principles and above and I would like to remind this august House that when I went to University
in 1969, we went with people who got one principle and some of them are holding Ph.D today.
So, we have been raising the standards and yet the problem is still there. More and more students
are passing to continue with tertiary education but there is a bottleneck at the tertiary level
because the way we man the system makes it impossible for many people to get access to it. Out
of those who qualified, all these institutions I have mentioned above consumed a total of 6883
leaving a net balance of 2317 with no access to tertiary education. If you put on those who got
one principle like in my old days, then the number is over 13,000 who qualified to continue with
tertiary education. We are crying for manpower, yet the system we are utilising does not allow us
to have access to that. Are we going to continue with a few people getting good education and
being supplanted on a sea of illiteracy? Once we cast the net wide, we must consider the way we
finance education in order to benefit maximumly. The Baganda have a saying that ‘enkima tesala
gwa kibira’; that when a forest has been destroyed or is about to be in trouble, the monkey should
not be the chief justice. It can give an opinion but it cannot give a final opinion.
So, we have an interest in expanding intake at the tertiary level to have students on campus, and
this is already being done. We need to expand on it so that as many of our children as possible
get access to this critical skill we need for the development of our country. So what is being
proposed; one, at the moment, we have no organ managing the establishment, running or
termination of tertiary institutions.
So, we proposed in the Paper to establish a National Council for Higher Education with legal
powers to that if somebody wants to start a University, you do not have to come to Parliament or
go to the President. You go to this organ, fulfill the requirements and then they recommend to
government for you to be granted a charter to start that particular institution. You also set
standards and if you drop below the standards they have the powers to recommend its closure, as
we are doing with primary schools now. You do not need some to come here. You go to the
Commissioner for Education, you go to the District Education Officer when you fulfill the
demands, and you get a license to establish the school. And it will be able to look after and even
into the management and financing and examination of tertiary institutions.
I have received a circular from my friends at Makerere asking that we must amend a law to stop
the President from being a Chancellor of the University. This will no longer be necessary. Those
are things I said will come at the legislative stage; that once you establish a National Council for
Higher Education, then all these issues which look to be insurmountable at the moment will be
relevant because there will be a body of competent and experienced men and women who will be
in charge of management of tertiary institutions. How do we propose to finance these experts of
intake at the tertiary level? You see, it is easy for us who are already in the system to say enough
is enough, but for those who are out, even if you - some of you have traveled by taxi when it is
even full, somebody will say, even if I sit on your thigh, there is no problem, because the
alternative is to walk from here to Masaka. But if you are put on a lorry of charcoal, when you
get there having avoided the accidents, you stretch your legs for about five minutes and you are
fresh, off you go. So, we do not want to over pack the vehicle but also we do not want to carry
too few people when the demand very high.
So, the proposal is that at the tertiary level - and I am using the word tertiary not university
including all those institutions I mentioned, the universities, the National Teacher Training
Colleges the National Technical Colleges, the Colleges of Commerce and other institutions like
the Law Development Centre, we have tertiary institutions, the paramedicals, those doing survey,
those doing cooperative course, all these are important resources to the management of our
economy. But some of us, whenever we talk of tertiary, Makerere, Makerere is one of the tertiary
institutions in Uganda; very important but one of the most important one. The other ones are as
important, if they were not, we would not be having them. I am sure those who are doctors, I do
not know how they would operate without all those people handle the gas and the nurses who are
supporting them and the rest. The doctors are essential but without the paramedicals, I think they
will be almost handicapped.
So, I would like you to read partially in a broader sense of the word. For the proposal is that
when somebody gets access to tertiary education, the government should for the essentials of that
education that is the proposal. The tuition will be free, the books will be free access to libraries
and laboratories will be free and the teachers as I mentioned at primary should be adequately
rewarded so that they can concentrate on teaching, when I talk of the cornerstone of a teacher and
we mean right from nursery up to tertiary level, then a proposal is that the student and the family
take care of the accommodation and food that is the proposal, and always it is good manners to
listen to the whole story and then comment, but I get amused; it seems as if I read these things
some are hearing it for a first time although they have been reading these books. What is the
situation at Makerere at the moment or at the tertiary level? Let me use Makerere as an example,
and to me this policy is for the poor because what is the situation at the moment at Makerere.
If you are a son of a Vice-Chancellor or a Professor or a Dean of Students, somebody working on
campus with a house subsidized by government on campus the son moves or a daughter moves
from the house and also carries a luggage to go school and occupies the dormitory room. Then
the child from Kotido, the child from Bundibugyo has no access because there is no
accommodation for him, we think this is not justice or somebody living in Nakasero his son also
carries a box, he drives and congest the campus he also goes to school although he comes every
weekend when the situation is not healthy in the dinning hall to check on the mummy’s doing.
Our proposal is that when we say the parents looks after the child then, those who would not have
the money for food and accommodation, the government puts in place a bursary scheme so that
you borrow the money according to your needs and available resources you go and pay in the hall
residence or you go and stay in the hostel, we shall encourage the private sector and Government
to build the hostels this will mean that somebody living in Nakasero will think twice before he
borrows money to take his son to Lumumba hall when there is a room in the house already, he
will think twice, if he does not take his son to Lumumba hall, it means there will be a room now
available for a child from Abimu to come and borrow money get trained and when the child starts
working, then he pays this money in installments then this money goes back to the revolving
funds so that more and more of our child get access to tertiary education. The system at the
moment, Mr. Chairman -(Laughter)- I will spend a bit of time on this one -(Interruption)
THE CHAIRMAN: Order please.
MAJ. AMANYA MUSHEGA: The system of education at the moment, Mr. Chairman, is that
when you are in primary, it is for yourself nobody bothers about it, when you go to secondary, if
your parents cannot afford to heel with you, then you have made it to university the Government
says, oh! how are you? Now, I take care of everything. To me, I think this is not the way parents
should approach the upbringing of their children.
I recall one time we were at school and this child had been neglected by the father he had
problems in the family, the uncle took it over and when he was doing his A ’level, the other
children were not as clever as this one, so the father became interested in this young boy. So he
came with eggs and bread in those days and other things, so this son said, my father when I
needed these things you were not available, now when I do not need them that is when you are
bringing them. Take them to my younger brothers because now I am okay. If I can relate this
one to the current situation where the government takes minimal interest in a child of a peasant, in
the child who is an orphan at primary level, then when you are 21 trimming beard, they say, now
we can give you pocket money, you go and sleep, eat when you want to eat, throw away the
posho if you do not like it.
Now the problem is, we do not think this is not the best way to handle the situation because you
must begin to put a sense of responsibility in this future citizen and shift some of these resources
so that they are - at the beginning there is leveling of the ground, but the ground is not levelled.
Then when you are ready to support yourself, then Government supports the essential areas and
lend few money for those ones which are not so essential so that the poor child from up-country
can complete university education and after all, when this education is paid for, I was given
example if you go to Makerere now, I have the figures here, the majority of the children now are
those who have made it through the good schools, they are the ones, which means their parents
were more able than those who have not been.
One of the hon. Members is saying sons of the Ministers - unfortunately my son is in primary 7
and you do not go on producing children because you are a Minister, but I was just looking at this
record if you see the schools which sent 90, 70 children then at the bottom you see many of those
schools which are in need with nobody who has got even not one the last out of the 500 schools.
I think 193 at that time, that was 89 the figure for this year, you look at the children you find they
are from the able schools which means that they being able to support, I have no problem with
schools which are able, we must support them, but say that the child whose parents have been
affording everything and he has a house in Kampala, he goes and a priority in the hall of
residence of a child from Kisoro, over a child from Bundibugyo, over a child from Kitgum, to
me, is not being really serious with education of our children.
So, the proposal is at tertiary level government pays for tuition for everybody rich and poor,
accommodation and food, you take care of yourself and if you are not capable, you borrow
money then you may refund it when you begin to work so that this money can finance those
behind it. This proposal, may be, I could read from the original report because some of our
friends will mistake these correct views as personal crusade, they are not personal crusades and I
have no shame myself as a Minister current responsible for education to associate with this
proposal. I have no sense of shame whatsoever, and I want to be one of these to be counted to
either on the side of those who have made it or to be on a side of those who want to make it but
have nobody to support them. The original report read and I quote, ‘in view of these, this was the
original report’ the pages are different, it is 78, it is I can help, it is resources for High Education
paragraph 6/6.7, pages 78, now, let me complete so that we can go to other business.
In view of this observation, it is imperative that the Government should review its funding policy
with the seriousness it deserves government must accept that higher education especially
university education is an expensive affair, not only in Uganda but elsewhere also.
It is important, therefore, that the government should not shy away from these responsibilities,
adequate financial resources have to be found and invested in high education, if it has to keep
place with other third world countries, comparing per capita expenditure in tertiary vis-a-vis
primary education in Uganda the ration of Government spending is 300 to 1 at the tertiary level
the government is responsible for meeting the total costs of both academic and none academic
items including accommodation, feeding and financial assisting students. Why we call on the
Government to increase its funding at the tertiary level of education we are also convinced that
the total cost of higher education should also be shared by both the Government and the
beneficiaries as such the following recommendations are made regarding funding of higher
education recommendation 1994, students and their parents assume full responsibility for meeting
all non-instructional expenses such as cost of transportation to and from their homes, pocket
money, feeding and tenant allowance 1995 for the students who are unable to raise the necessary
finances, the Government should establish a system of loans to be repaid only when the student
completes his studies and finds gain for employment. Tertiary level education in 1996, especially
university, should be encouraged and assisted in providing part-time paid employment students to
enable them to meet their financial obligations and you can go on and on. So, these measures are
not going to be put in place tomorrow, they will be put in place first progressively so that people
adjust.
Secondly, when the proper resources and mechanism are put in place - so, I do not see anybody in
tertiary institution actually now being affected but, it is important for the future that they are put
in place when the resources are being earned and the system of lending until recovering money
has been put in place. At the moment, the government fully finances tertiary institution
education, inadequate as it is. But when somebody gets that paper, that paper is to the holder.
You can go and fail to the highest bidder without reports to government at all. So, to say that at
the tertiary level, people should make a contribution not to say something out of the ordinary. It
is time to take a political decision, we must have the gas to do so if Uganda is not going to be
country where a few people get maximum education and the few of the population is condemned
to illiteracy and ignorance.
I remember one of my friends were saying that the current system, if it is continued a few months
ago, that the children of the poor will serve those of the rich forever and ever Amen. Then we
sang ‘Tukutendereza’ at that time. But it is important that really we do not act on a motion, we do
not act to a gallery, but we really look at the problems squarely and see whether maximum
support should be put and minimum support should be put.
With me, as long as the teacher is adequately rewarded to teach the full time student of Campus
students, part time students and correspondence students, and the libraries are properly catered
for, and the laboratories are equipped, these problems of raising loans will be temporary. And
incidentally, I may get this opportunity to inform the august House, and it is only Uganda in
Africa, which is supporting tertiary education, and we can take credit for that. But I think if we
compare the number of students who have been in our tertiary institutions in manpower
requirements in Tanzania, in Kenya, in Zambia, in Zimbabwe, you will find that we are
completely behind.
There is a provision for special groups, education for girls, to be given special attention so that
they can catch up with men. Education for - there will be special incentives for ladies with
proposal that they would pay slightly less amount of fees when they are required so that the
parents can adjust. There is also education for disabled and education for the disadvantaged areas
like Karamoja and other areas within Uganda like Mubende. And then also education for talented
children.
For the question of management of schools, management of educational institutions, that is
primary and secondary, our proposal is that, those who have a legitimate interest in the welfare of
the school should be involved in this management both at primary and secondary level. And the
people I have identified so far are the parents, the government, the foundation bodies, the old
students, the local community in which the school is located, the teachers and the students; that
they should be involved in the Board of Governors in the management of the school, not passers
by. And I will be proposing that we recommend recommendations I think 205, when I discussed,
I mentioned it that we discuss - the religious leaders, they were extremely concerned with the
chairmanship of the school they have founded and after long discussions, we agreed with them
that I will be presenting this request by them and arguing for it that the chairmanship of an
educational institution should go to the body which founded that institution as a legitimate
recognition of its contribution and fore sightedness.
Financing of education. The main principle of financing education is that those who benefit from
education should contribute to it. Not in equal proportions, but if you are benefiting from
education, you should make a contribution. And the people who benefit from education,
obviously it is the government, it benefits from education there is no doubt about it. So,
government should have more and more money for education in order for it to benefit from an
educated population.
The second group, which benefits from education, are the local authorities. Because they also
like skilled manpower. The local communities benefit from education, those of you who are
educators and you know, when you are in local areas, how much they take advantage of your
presence. At least, if you are not a chairman of the wedding, you will be the master of ceremony.
(Laughter)
Parents benefit from education when the children get educated, the parents benefit. At least an
educated child will not be a burden to the parents, even if he may not provide demanding that
when are you dying so that I may take share of my inheritance, and the students arithmetically
benefit from education.
So, they should also make a contribution. And if they are in the rural schools, you will find that
rural children carry reeds, carry bricks, and carry stones, to contribute to the building of the
educational institution. Yet at the higher level, the medicated we come, the lame - we acquire the
position of being incapacitated, and the external community also benefit from education, because
if you go to work for the UN or OAU or UNDP or World Bank, they never paid for you. So,
since they are benefiting from these people, there is no harm why they should not contribute to it.
Finally, the management of the Ministry of Education should also be taken into account their
proposals there how the Ministry should be restructured, so that the management of education
enhanced. I would like to complete my submission with quoting three stories. The first story is
from the Bible. For those who fear to dare, the story of a man who built on sand and the story of
a man who built on the rock. The one who built on sand, had an easy life, he would touch the
sand, it would be smooth, within hours, he was in a first class well-cemented house. Of course,
the sand as you shifted, it shifted. When the storm came, he was destroyed. The second man
built on the rock. He got injured in the process of cracking the stones, people laughed at him, he
took a long time to lay the foundation, but arithmetically when the building was complete, when
the storm came, the house stood the test of time.
The second story is from my culture when I was a small boy; there is a story of two birds. One
bird is called ‘engomba bwariko’ and the other one is called ‘entegakaryeija.’ I will explain. The
engomba bwariko means, the bird, which looked for easy nesting. So it went into a swamp and
within hours, it had put up a magnificent nest. The other bird struggled and put its nest under a
rock. So, this bird which built in the swamp when there were these fires, the swamp destroyed
the bird, the nest and the young ones. And the one which built under the rock, it took time to
build - a lot of effort. When the fire came, it just passed on top of the rock and the bird came out
to enjoy easy time.
The final story, you may like it, is from one of our national heroe called the Late Badru
Kakungulu. He told us this story in 1986 and I would like to repeat to this august House for what
it is now. He found we had finished the meeting of the Army Council, then he came to greet us
and he said, you young boys, what have you done? You will never enjoy, because when you do
something very strong, it takes time, and others will enjoy it. We thought that really he was not
very nice to us. So, he told us a story, which I would like to re-tell. That sometime back, there
was a king going through his area, and he found a very old man at the age of Obwangor there, and
it is relevant here because all the men like Mzee Obwangor who I respected as a small boy, will
enjoy this story. The king found this very old man planting a coconut tree. Some of you are not
farmers. Coconut trees take a long time to bear fruit. So, he said, you old man, you must be
foolish, how come you are planting a coconut tree, do you not know that your days are
numbered? You think you will eat this thing? So, the old man turned to the king, he said, my
king, you may think I am foolish, but I am planting this thing. This coconut tree I have been
eating, I do not know who planted this tree. But I have been enjoying the fruits of this tree. I am
also planting this tree, if I am lucky to live long enough and I enjoy the fruit, it will be good. But
in case I die, before the tree bears fruits, those after me will enjoy the fruits of this tree just as I
have been enjoying the fruits of a tree I never planted. The problem of Uganda, and Uganda
Government, has been an effort to only plant beans, which you will eat in your lifetime. We want
to do jobs for which we shall be praised tomorrow. And the Baganda say, ‘Bugubugu ti muliro.’
That the first, which burns so quickly, does not cook very well. This has been a problem of our
country.
Secondly, we do not want to take the hard route. Short and easy routes are not necessarily the
easiest. If you want to pass an exam, you read hard. But the other ways of cheating, but when
you are caught, the results are cancelled. My appeal to this House, and the whole nation is that,
there is no easy walk to valuable and good education. We have to sweat for it. We may be called
names, we may be called useless, but the important thing, is that we plant a seed; we plant a tree
of education which will make the future of Uganda even if it happens after we have died, after we
have left Government. But those children born 30 years after us will not be quoting what I have
been quoting this evening, which was contained in the Council Report. And 30 years later, the
situation is more or less as it was in 1963 in terms of developing the economy, in terms of
converting our potential wealth into actual wealth, in terms of job opportunities to our children. It
is simply because we want to please the population rather than doing what is important for the up
bringing of the population.
Let me call upon this august House to stand the test of time and be counted and lay an educational
system that will be critical for the development of our country. For us, we shall plant it, and we
shall weed it, let future generations enjoy its fruits. (Applause)
I beg to move that the Council do receive, consider and adopt the Government White Paper on
Education Policy Review Commission Report entitled, Education for national Integration and
Development. I beg to move.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Motion is now open.
MR. NTIMBA JOHN (Mbarara Municipality, Mbarara): Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. I rise to support the Motion for the Minister of Education and Sports. And I will start
by congratulating the NRM Government for having initiated this idea of setting up an Education
Policy Review Commission. This is something that many governments in the past have failed to
do. And you have heard, we have been going by the Council Commission Report of 1963, which
is very much out-dated.
I also want to congratulate Prof. Senteza Kajubi and his team for having produced such a strained
report. Some of you may not know that this was a second time that Prof. Senteza Kajubi was
called upon t produce a report of this nature. The first one was produced in the time of Idi Amin
and it never saw the light of day. I am very happy to observe that through this report, the NRM
Government has addressed itself to very, very important aspects of education namely; they need
to produce better quality education and I think we have done reasonably well in this respect,
because when our children finish senior six and go abroad for further studies, their standards are
usually found quite acceptable and competent.
The other aspect is an attempt to produce relevant education. I shall be talking a little more on
this. I must congratulate the Government for having seriously considered the welfare of the
teachers. Many of us in this House were forced to leave the blackboard because we were looking
for better pastures. Some of us may have been regarded as being selfish, but were forced by
circumstances. And the NRM Government by attempting to give a better package to the teacher,
is going to make the teaching profession more attractive and once we have enough people
interested in going to the teaching profession, then our education system will be able to reach the
objectives it has set itself.
As we look at this report, we must remind ourselves that this country has gone through very, very
difficult period especially between 1971 and more recently. If it was not for these difficulties that
we had to go through, university of primary education would have been achieved as early and 10
or 15 years ago. If we did not have these difficulties of economy, we would have been talking in
terms of having about four national universities at this time in the mid 1990’s. However, it is
never too late to make up for lost time.
I also want to take this opportunity to pay special compliments to the Parents/Teachers
Association. Now, when we talk about PTA, many of us tent to have a negative attitude about the
PTA, they tend to look at the PTA as batch of rich people who are there to hike school fees and
make education very difficult for others who are not well off.
But I want to assure you that if it were not for the existence of the Parents/Teachers Association,
our Ministry of Education in the last 20, 25 years would not have been able to run the education
service of this country. So, we must really get credit where it is. Let us not look at the PTA
negatively, but it has contributed no small measures in copying up our system of education. All
we have to do is to ensure that we control these PTA and they do not hike the school fees to a
manageable limit.
There is one area I am particularly interested in, in as far as the new policy is concerned, and that
is vocationalisation of education. In the past, the education system has been accused of
producing job seekers rather than job makers. It is not our fault. This type of attitude the
colonialists left behind us. They were never interested in giving us the rights of technical
education.
I am on record as having been a member of students of Nakawa Engineering School in 1957, who
went on strike because we thought the British Government at that time was not very keen on
introducing the right type of technical education. And Mzee Obwangor here remembers how we
are students from Nakawa at that time, were pestering them in the Uganda Club as African
Representative Members telling them that, as representatives, you must tell the British Uganda
protectorate Government to develop Nakawa and Kyambogo into a Uganda Technical College.
They were never interested in that.
MR. OBWANGOR: Point of information. Mr. Chairman, I would like to tell the hon. Member
holding the Floor of the House that we did it excellently. For the hon. Minister the Mover of the
Motion, before the House has clearly quoted what we did in 1963, by then the Late Dr. Zachary
was the Minister of Education. So, I know it thoroughly well. But the thing is this; I would ask
to do the thing effectively.
MR. NTIMBA JOHN: Mr. Chairman, I thank the hon. Member and some of his Colleagues
both living and not living for the effort they made. Because if we had not gone on strike in that
year 1957, and if honourables like Obwangor, George Magezi, and Dr. Kunuka, had not pestered
the British Government, we would not have had Kyambogo as it is. So, I take up my hat to them.
When we talk about vocationalisation of education, let us look at our attitudes. Let us be very
frank with ourselves, some of them to be prestigious against the idea of using our hands. My
experience as Permanent Secretary and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education has shown
me that many parents used to go to visit their schools and when they found their children
handling the hammer or digging in the garden as part of the agriculture, they would reject and
say, I do not want my child to be digging, I sent him to study History, Physics and Chemistry.
So, we must change our attitudes towards vocationalisation. About 40 years ago when we were
in primary school, we used to have a subject called handwork. We were producing mats from
papyrus and this was counting towards our marks; may be the Ministry of Education should
consider this in its efforts to vocationalise education at the primary level, may be re-introduce
something like called handwork so as to sensitise the students on importance of using the hands
as part of their education.
Now, when we talk about vocationalisation of education, we have got to consider the fact that
there is a heavy - big price tag. Vocationalisation of education is very expensive, it is not as
cheap as teaching History which you only need a teacher, a blackboard, chalk and a text book.
But if we have to vocationalise our education system, we need a lot of money. Where is this
money going to come from? We have got to produce it from our taxes and Mr. Chairman, and
Members of this House, know very well that the amount of tax that we are paying is no where
near being enough to sustain our budget. We must continue depending on foreign borrowing.
But again, my experience is that Ministry of Education has been giving impression that the
developed countries, the so called developed countries are not very keen on helping the
developing or the Third World countries in developing technical education. This reminds me of
what the British were doing to us in the 50s; when we had to go on strike in Nakawa.
Now, what do we - and I think we better continue pressurising them to give them assistance.
Here, I am talking about the World Bank, but there is another area worth exploring and this is the
other Third World countries which are still developing but which have made some in-loads in
developing Science and Technology and here I am talking about south to south Co-operation. I
am talking in terms of countries like Indonesia, which is a Third World country, but which has
made gigantic strides, its development of Science and Technology. Pakistan, India, Korea,
Taiwan and so forth, these countries with which we should establish and strengthen our contacts
and I am sure and hopeful that these countries are perhaps more willing to cooperate with us,
much more readily than the so-called First World countries.
About three years ago, I had an opportunity to visit North Korea. The purpose of my going there
was to see how they were vocationalising their education system. When I told them about the
problems and the difficulties we had here, especially in our Technical schools, I was very happy
to see that they were willing to give us assistance to some of our schools. If I can remember, I
remember telling them the idea of adapting as benefactors - adapting Uganda Technical College
Lira and the response was very good and I hope the Minister for Education has been able to
follow this up.
So, I would like to see us, picking up schools like Elgon Technical College and sending it to
Indonesians and saying, Indonesia be benefactor to this. I want to see us picking up Kichwamba
Technical School, saying India, you take this on, send the teachers, send in the equipment and
send even the students. So, this we can do in the context of south-to-south Co-operation. I think
in this way, by looking at these new areas, we shall be able to advance in vocationalising our
education system much faster than continuing to depend on our traditional benefactors namely;
the Developed World.
At the home ground, I would like to see the establishment of a strong linkage between our
Technical Institutions and Colleges and the manufacturing world. I wish the Minister for
Industry was still here, I would like to see out industries - the Uganda Manufacturers Association
showing more interest in helping our students in Technical Schools and Colleges by exposing
them to industrial training, even if their factories are idle, let the students go there at the time
when the factories are being cleaned and overhauled and be exposed to the type of technical
education, the industrialisation. And again, I am glad to see that the Deputy Minister for Finance
is here, and here I am specifically proposing that, these industries which are generous enough in
giving our Technical students this industrial training, should be exempted from payment of
income tax or should have Income Tax Relief in respect of the expenses they incur when they are
exposing our Technical Students in their industries.
I also want to say that the Ministry of Education set up a few years ago, what is called STEPU.
STEPU means, Science and Technology, Equipment Production Unit. If this unit is helped to
develop, it will contribute a lot towards the vocationalisation of our school system. But
unfortunately, that STEPU is still depending more heavily on foreign assistance and I want to
avail myself of this opportunity that we should now start looking more within ourselves. I want
us into three months time, when hon. Amanya Mushega and hon. David Pulkol come to this
House to ask for more money to support this STEPU, we should all be only too willing to give
them the money that is required. Without this, they come back and tell us that STEPU is not
succeeding.
I want to talk about another sensitive area and that is the one the Minister referred to, that is
tertiary education where government is going to be contributing towards the cost of the academic
aspect of the teaching and leaving the students more or less to fend for themselves in as far as
other things are concerned. Here, in fact, we are talking about cost-sharing.
Now, this is a subject that has worried many people and in fact, I was told that this morning, a
group of students staged a demonstration near Parliamentary Building, ostensively to protest this
idea of cost sharing. This shows how serious and how sensitive it is. But I happen to have done a
little bit of research on this subject and I found that, as the Minister pointed out earlier on, very
few countries if any, these days, are paying for University Education, in full.
So, whether we like it or not, we cannot avoid cost-sharing at University level or at tertiary level,
but what I would like us to do and I am glad the Minister assured us that this cost-sharing is not
going to be introduced tomorrow. But what we could put in place is arrangements which can help
our tertiary students to be able to afford having education without unnecessary suffering and here,
I am proposing three areas; they could be minimal areas than this. I want us to consider seriously
into finding jobs for these university students during their holidays.
Now, some people have said that this may not be possible, but again I am very happy to note that
the subject of adult Literacy Programme is being transferred to the Ministry of Education. Let the
Tertiary Students be given jobs during the holiday; let them go to their villages and teach the
adults and the young children who have not been able to go to school to read and write. In so
doing, at least, they will be able to make a bit of pocket money and find it easier to pay for their
accommodation and meals at the University, that is one area.
The second area, I want to propose a system that used to exist in the 50s and 60s; that is,
provision of Bursaries by local authorities. We now talk in terms of decentralisation and in the
50s and 60s, the local governments used to finance tertiary education for our children. Some of
us were able to go to university overseas on scholarships from Local Governments. But how will
the local authorities be able to do this?
Now, again I am glad the Minister for Finance is here. I want us to put in place an arrangement
where these decentralised districts should be able to draw more revenue from the taxes accruing
in their own districts. What I have in mind is that, for example, Kasese District should be able to
draw more money from excise duties imposed on Hima Cement Industry. I would like these
Local Governments to be able to keep all the money accruing from road licences, driving permits
within the areas. In that way, the Local Governments will be in position to earn more money and
find money available to finance their tertiary students by giving them bursaries.
THE CHAIRMAN: Order please.
MR. NTIMBA: Thirdly, Mr. Chairman, hon. Members, I want to retaliate what the Minister has
just said and that is, Government should put in place a system of interest-free soft loans. This
thing is long overdue, we should have thought about it long time ago, but I do hope that since it
has featured in the Minister’s report and proposals, I hope we are going to accept it and it will
also contribute towards making it easier for the students and tertiary institutions to pay for their
education. But I also again want to repeat the fact that, if we make a mistake of introducing costsharing at tertiary institutions tomorrow, or even during the forth-coming academic year, we shall
be really inviting problems for us.
And in connection with this, I want to talk about these students being required to send for
themselves. I think Government is divesting itself responsibilities of running these halls of
residence like Mary Stuart, NorthCote Hall and so forth and so on. But what are we doing to
make available these facilities for students to hire out? I happen to come from a town where a
new university is developing and every other day. I am invaded by young students from tertiary
students who want to come and hire my garage because they have nowhere to sleep.
Now, recently, we were told that the Ministry of Local Government was going to re-develop
places like Nakawa, Naguru. We are told that Namungona is going to be developed into a
housing estate.
Now, I want government to consider that while you are developing Nakawa and Naguru estates,
you provide land for private investors to build students’ hostels. This idea has not been thought
about, I initiated this when I was in the Ministry of Education, but I do not think that I will stay
long enough to see it through, but if private developers were allowed to build hostels in the
neighbourhood of Kyambogo, by the time we develop a Polytechnic, which the Minister was
talking about, which will embrace Nakawa, Management Training and Kyambogo Complex, then
students will find facilities available to hire accommodation and buy food on their own. But it
will no be enough for us to say that Government cannot provide you accommodation any more,
you fend for yourself.
So, through inter-Ministerial coordination, I am sure the Ministries of Housing and Urban
Development, Ministries of Local Government; should make available facilities for private
developers to build these facilities in the neighborhoods of tertiary institutions so that students
will find these facilities available.
Finally, I want to talk about the management of our schools. Sometime back, we were
approached by Members of the Joint Christian Council and we were concerned about the
management of our schools. I am glad the Minister has assured them that in future, these
founding bodies will be allowed to nominate Chairman of Board of Governors or Management
Committees. We are also told that the Ministry was agreeable to having the Chairman of these
Boards appointed by the Foundation Body. But there is another area where there are these school
owners a little bit concerned and I want to draw your attention to recommendation No. 202 of the
White Paper, which is at the bottom of page 207, of this Yellow White Paper. Recommendation
No. 202 says that, and I quote, ‘The views of Boards of Management Committees may be taken
into consideration by Ministry officials in posting and transferring of Headteachers and Deputy
Headteachers but not all the teachers.’
Now, these owners of schools of foundation bodies were worried about the word, ‘may’ and they
were keen that this word ‘may’ should be deleted and instead substituted by the word ‘shall.’
This will ensure them that they will not be losing the grip on the schools which they have founded
and if this can be done, I hope the Minister will have no problems granting this, then the
foundation bodies will still remain confident that their role as founders is till recognised and will
be able to continue cooperating fully with the government authorities.
I want again to congratulate the NRM Government for having done what many other
Governments in the past have failed to do and on a personal note, I am particularly happy that I
was associated with the initiation of this report and I was also given an opportunity of
participating in preparing this White Paper for the Cabinet and I want to appeal to all of us to give
the Minister for Education maximum support so that, he delivers the goods for the benefit of our
children and our future generation. Mr. Chairman, I support the Motion.
BRIG. MOSES ALI (East Moyo County, Moyo): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last two
speakers had actually taken very long, long time, but I suppose it was necessary. I want also to
thank the Commissioners for good job done and the Minister for excellent presentation and the
former Minister for backing up his Minister. I want to start with the statement on the Yellow
Book which is called White - the Ministerial statement page Roman 12, paragraph 3. This
paragraph, although the Minister did not read, it is here put as his statement.
So, we commented on it, of course, we did not know he was going to read different things
altogether. The paragraph is saying that the government has during the last 5 years, page 11,
Roman 12, paragraph 3 is concerned with the investment sector such as Agriculture, Industry and
Road Construction and it went on to say that, which would generate income for investment at
later stages in education and other social services which is correct.
THE CHAIRMAN: Use the microphone.
BRIG. MOSES ALI: Mr. Chairman, see, I have only two hands, I wanted to put these things
down, I wanted to open the book -(Laughter) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What I want to bring
out here, is that the Minister is saying that the available funds in this programme - this constraint
still remains but this approach has been intended to make available more resources in the long run
but the Minister is blaming these investments for limited funds for education, that this investment
in these sectors was the cause of limited funds for education which I am saying it is not true. It
may not be one of the causes. I think the Minister has overlooked or not stated at all the colossal
cost of containing the insurgency.
The cost of containing the insurgency has largely contributed to the limited fund for education
and this must be brought out in the Minister’s speech clearly so that when we suffer, we know
why we are suffering, but if you are going to blame innocent sectors like Agriculture, Industry
and so on, that is mispresentation of the whole situation, because of insurgency. The Ministry of
Defence has taken a lot of money to put the situation clear and at the same time, the Ministry of
Education would not get the same amount of money, not because of the investments in those
sectors as the Minister has said. The Introduction on page (1), Paragraph 2, somewhere in the
middle, the statement starts with once, ‘once still there are all kinds of imbalances in the
distribution of educational facilities between urban and the rural areas, between different regions
and ethnic or nationality groups, between boys and girls and between the rich and the poor’ and
page 4, I want to connect this statement with another statement on page 4, No. 9 Roman (iii)
under current issues; that ‘disparities between rural and urban areas and regional imbalances in
the provision of educational facilities have increased over the years.’ These two statements need
far reaching attention.
The imbalances of education as stated above has chain effect on other development sectors
because education is the key to the development. I appreciate the proposal and package for
different grades of teachers on page 153, under Teachers’ conditions and services; but I think the
rural teachers are more affected as a result of economic hardship because one, poor rural parents
have no economic and sound base to pay enough PTA like their colleagues in the urban centres.
Two, there is no time when both the poor rural parents and the teachers will catch up with their
colleagues in the urban areas in all sectors. Three, the urban teachers will always earn more than
their colleagues in the rural areas. Four, I am now proposing in addition to all these allowances
here to all teachers throughout the country, I am proposing additional hardship allowance to be
provided to the rural teachers to enable them increase their lot. (Applause)
This is very important because all those people who qualify in tertiary education throughout the
country because of the nature of their job, must come to the centre, to the urban with all their
purchasing power they drain from the rural with their brain, with their money. So, the teachers
who teach their children will be getting a lot of money and that would be so throughout.
So, we are saying because there will always be rural teachers with their hardships in order for
them to catch up, may be 20, 25 or 30 per cent of their salary could be considered as hardship
allowance. This hardship allowance - considered as hardship allowance if introduced, will attract
many qualified teachers who are now hostages of higher PTA in urban areas to the rural areas.
The rural areas suffer. Those days, the insecurity was perhaps the reason, but now since it has
improved, they stuck here because they have become hostages of high PTA since it cannot be
paid in rural areas. Those who are paid in urban, you cannot force them to go. So, when we
introduce the hardship allowance may be, they will think of going back to the rural areas because
that would mean added advantage.
On development, the Minister to adopt a deliberate policy to give more developmental fund.
Many infrastructures have been destroyed again as a result of this war the Minister did not talk
about it in his statement to the rural areas to improve the educational facilities in rural areas so
that those who live there do benefit from the national cake. It is rarely that the infrastructure in
the urban are actually destroyed. Most destruction has happened in the rural areas, even most of
there things have been taken, school trucks, tractors, mattresses, everything.
So, that should be compensated. I also call on the Minister to increase the capitation grants to the
rural areas for the same reasons advanced above. I probably want to propose also to the Minister
one of the sources of getting the money or to the government. First of all, I must thank the
government for retrenching the civil servants, retrenching the army, but retrenchment also should
continue up to the NRM Secretariat. (Laughter)
We should restructure NRM Secretariat to skeleton staff. The savings should be given to the
Ministry of Education because really we do not need this big staff now that NRM is expanding. I
think there should be no fear. It should not even be a burden to NRM to shake of some of the
liabilities now, because I think they have been looked after enough. So, you should not use the
public fund to maintain staff who are not good to themselves. So, if you could reduce the NRM
to skeleton staff, to just maintain the movement perhaps until after these few years, I think we
would make a lot of savings. So, the Minister is not writing the recommendations. I do not know
whether he is taking it seriously or not. (Laughter)
On page 9, recommendation (i), the Commissioner has recommended that the ‘National Flag
should be hosted in all educational institutions. Two, the schools should start with an assembly
every morning in which the National Anthem and prayers should be recited and so on.’ Now, the
government Amendment reads down to 18(I). The flag will be hosted only on the Administration
Buildings of the Educational Institutions. (b) Children, students in educational institutions will
be taught at the appropriate levels the process of development and the content of the Constitution
of Uganda, its correct interpretation and importance of citizen and so on.
My quarrel here is why has the government found it necessary to drop out prayers? Is it no
longer important? Has it got to do with the Ministers having no Christian names? (Laughter) Or
what is it? So, I think it is very important that we start a day with prayers. Uganda is a religious
country. Everybody is serious in his or her religion. There is no conflict but the type of prayer I
want to recommend is this one, we have here in this House, standard prayers, so that we refer
only to God. You can refer to your messengers in your own time, but when we are seated here,
God is for everybody.
I think we should have a standard prayer in all our schools and since it is a public school, it is
must be a standard prayer. I think this must be an oversight for the Minister to leave out prayers.
Page 5(viii) ‘boarding schools at the secondary stage impose a heavy - this one here I was going
to differ from the Minister’s submission. It is true boarding schools are expensive but the
advantage the Minister did not touch is much needed National Unity that the boarding school is
quietly building. When we have boarding schools, then you have people from all over the
country and can stay together. In fact, we have people from here now on Ombachi Secondary
School and all over. This is a good beginning. This country is divided, so if we do not work for
the unity, we cannot get it.
Now, here you can read in papers so and so has shared a dormitory with Museveni, so and so,
these people are lucky because they had among them potential future head of state, now if you
remove the boarding schools, you confine people to their places and you destroy that invisible
seed of unity much as it is very expensive. I think the Minister should think twice.
MAJ. AMANYA MUSHEGA: Point of information. May I inform my good friend hon. Moses
Ali and thank him for having warned me on his contribution in advance but, what he is saying is
true in theory and to a limited number of schools in Uganda now, the majority of boarding
schools in Uganda are now as rural and local as the local communities but if it is referring to the
top 10 or 15 schools - yes, if you are referring to the quantum of boarding schools, the figures
available now is that if you go to Adjumani you will find it not everybody in that secondary
school is from the area. If you go to Kyamunga Secondary School, you are from that Gombolola.
If you go to Nyarushanje; the same thing.
So, the reality now on the ground is that the majority of the boarding schools are as local as the
day schools and I am pleased that Old Kampala which was a day school produced the calibre of
Moses Ali and he was able to remember those he was with in school when he was holding the
Finance Portfolio and it was very good.
BRIG. MOSES ALI: Again, Mr. Chairman -(Interruption)
MRS. KIRYAPAWO: Point of information. I would like to inform the Speaker and the
Minister that what the hon. Member is advancing is very important. Whereas the Minister is
saying that boarding schools have also become like day schools to be very local, I can assure him
that even our local boarding schools - you will find schools in Pallisa like Namengo, you find that
children as coming from many parts of Uganda and I am sure that is now the only venue for that
co-operation with other people interaction as we have this decentralisation.
Because with decentralisation, you will go in your local primary school. From that local primary
school, you go to the senior secondary school in that very area and you may end up with a
university within that region and then I do not know what Ugandan you will be - because you will
only know your local area. At the end of your course, you will be locally employed. (Laughter)
So, this is the only venue for interaction. Thank you.
MAJ. AMANYA MUSHEGA: Point of information. Maybe, Mr. Chairman, on some
information you may help us to guide the debate, because this House has a capacity sometimes to
get off the rails. Our submission is not that the government is against boarding schools that be
made clear. All it is saying is that, because of limited resources and in order to bring more people
into education system, the Government will support basic facilities for education and boarding
schools where it is necessary, then the parents who want to have their children and can afford to
take them to boarding schools, they will be free to do so.
Secondly, the alternative to a few people of going to boarding school is that the overwhelming
majority of the people do not even get local education, that is what people miss. You know, we
talk about ourselves who went to Namagunga, Buddo, Gayaza, we forget that the overwhelming
majority of our people are local. If take them beyond their boards even in terms of literature they
do not do everything.
So, I would like them to also to look at the overwhelming majority of Ugandans who constitute
the main, the voter of this august House that they do not even have local information. They do
not know how to read and write, and if you know how to read and write, you can read about
nationalism. For example, I am positive that the majority of the Christians here have neither been
to Rome nor Jerusalem, but there are more Christian than Jews who live in Jerusalem. So,
education -(Laughter)- that is a fact.
So, I would like to help here because education is in itself a vehicle for nation building. The
education curricular can build a nationalist far better than sleeping next to another person. So, we
should ignore the question that those who can afford boarding no problem, they go there. But our
primary goals as a government is to get as many pupils as possible get education, learn about
Ajumani, learn about Kibale, and those of you who have been involved in these meetings, the
people you know what is means. So, that point should not be ignored so that we just talk about
people who go to secondary education now, constitute 15 per cent of the age group who go to
secondary, and two thirds of the secondary schools in Uganda now are day.
So, if you remove the two thirds those who get taxes to boarding secondary education are less
than 5 per cent. The other 99 per cent we are not bothered about them, and I think those hon.
Members should - about their electorate who neither know how to read or to write. I do not know
what they will say about them.
BRIG. MOSES ALI: Mr. Chairman, I still insist and I am happy that he moderated his position
that the boarding schools are going to be there, to me, it is very important because it will continue
to be a base where unity is going to be achieved like inter-marriage, you do not know, like intermarriage those uncles become to spread all over Uganda. So, you cannot be against the husband
of your daughter. So, that is very important, Mr. Chairman.
I want to go on my last page, on page 17, recommendation 6, page 17 that the area languages of
wider communication should be taught as a subject in primary school, the area languages are the
five Ugandan languages. Luganda, Luo, Runyakitara, Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankole-Rukiga,
Ateso, Karamojong and Lugbra.
Now, as I said this will die with intermarriage, if it is intensified. But for the time being, I am
saying there are three languages that are left out and the people who are used in these languages
will probably find it difficult to or will have advantage like these people whose languages are
considered as area languages. That is people in Sebei, although they are few in Uganda, they
must be many in Kenya and to leave them out and there, is no relationship with language with the
other even Lugisu, I do not think they understand each other.
Perhaps we could add this on the language to be taught also. Then second is Kakwa, very small
in Koboko, these people are very few in Uganda but they are many in Sudan and in Zaire. Again
you leave them out, it is a big omission and finally, is Madi -(Laughter)- Madi language is also
very complicated, it is very difficult, the Lugbra cannot understand, even if they stay there for
years, it is very difficult and they are also in Sudan and Uganda.
So, these three languages you ask your colleague the Minister of Information he had found
difficult to eliminate them because there is no relationship with other languages here. The Kisoro
people I think they are comfortable -(Laughter)- I think there is no problem.
I want to stop here and support the White Paper, it is very, very important, it has really got
attention and if implemented to the latter, we shall remember the Minister of Information forever.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
ADJOURNMENT
THE CHAIRMAN: With that we have come to the end of today’s session, we adjourn until
tomorrow at 2.30 p.m. Thank you.
(The Council rose at 5.50 p.m. and adjourned to Wednesday 11th May, 1994 at 2.30 p.m.)