User:LGreg/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge (LG seminar)/Group 2/History/History of Education In Uganda/

Historical Background
School education was first introduced in Uganda by British missionaries in 1877, however it was mainly targeted for the children of chiefs and to prepare functionaries for the British colonial government. In other words, the education system was not very inclusive from the beginning. They followed a 7-4-2-3 system (“7 years of primary education, 4 years at Secondary 'O' level, 2 years at Secondary 'A' level and a minimum of 3 years at university level”) with a national examination at the end of each stage. This system was very hierarchical and selective and left many Ugandans illiterate, in fact the literacy rates in 1999 were only 67% according to the Ministry of Education and Sports, and primary education only reached 50% of the age group.

During the post-independence period of the 1960s (post-WW2), Uganda’s education system was actually considered one of the best in East and Central Africa. However, the conflicts that took place between late 1960s till mid 1980s had a negative impact on Uganda’s political, social, economical life - including its education sector. This situation made universalisation of education necessary for achieving economic growth and unity. However, education wasn’t the primary concern in the reconstruction agenda of the post-1986 period, whilst Yoweri Kaguta Musevini was president. Even a decade later, Musevini was still reluctant to commit to a primary education strategy, and prioritised defence and road building expenditures.

Universal Primary Education In Uganda
In 1996, due to the multi-candidate political competition, Mesevini promised to abolish primary education fees. This was met by high public enthusiasm, hence Universal Primary Education became increasingly more emphasised during the 1996 political campaign. Finally in 1997, UPE was established in Uganda. Furthermore, post-election, education became one of the main areas that the public would evaluate government performance.

According to Stasavage, unlike in other African countries, Museveni continued to increase expenditures on education after the election.

Today
Today, Museveni has been in power since 1986,  which is over 30 years. Moreover, UPE policy has been running for 23 years. One would naturally expect a remarkable change in Uganda’s primary education system. However, Uganda still faces high illiteracy and drop-out rates, which suggests significant issues about the implementation and running of this policy.