Free secondary education for Uganda
Government enlists 1,000 schools to teach the poorest citizens.
Published On 19 Feb 2007
He said: “It [the education programme] will double enrolment.”
The move comes after an earlier initiative that aimed to give free universal primary education.
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“It’s a pro-poor programme that will help rural communities develop” Robinson Nsumba-Lyazi, |
Many children are prevented from continuing their education beyond primary school because their families are unable to afford the average $130 per year fees.
On average, Ugandans earn about $300 per person per year.
Nsumba-Lyazi said only 150,000 primary school students last year went on to continue their education.
“Without USE [Universal Secondary Education] the dropout rate is about 50 per cent,” he said.
Nsumba-Lyazi said the programme would cost an estimated 30 billion Uganda shillings ($17.2m) this year.
About 1,000 government and private secondary schools have been enlisted by the government in order to absorb the new students free of charge.
Uganda, a country of 27 million people, ranks 145th on the United Nations Human Development Index, which measures income, education and life expectancy out of 177 countries.
Source: News Agencies