Ugandan school dropout rates are among the worst in East Africa. In an attempt to combat this issue, the government is setting up a committee to help re-admit those who have already dropped out, especially girls.
In Uganda only 30% of students who begin primary school manage to complete it. According to Dr. Hilda Tadria, of the Mentoring and Empowering Program for Young Women, the statistics are even worse for girls.
“Yes, only 30% complete primary seven. But of this 30%, the majority are boys,” she said.
According to Dr. Tadria girls often drop out due to unintended pregnancy. Factors like a lack of sanitary materials and having to share latrines with boys also play a part in this problem.
Dr. Chrysostom Muyingo, higher education minister, says that students also drop out due to poverty. Many children, especially orphans, cannot afford school fees. The government, he says, realizes that it has a duty to educate them.
The committee in charge of the reintegration project plans to research effective methods and begin readmitting dropouts early next year.
This move is part of a wider awareness of the need for change in Uganda’s educational system. Recent events such as a meeting of the Uganda Women’s Network to discuss gender equality, and the government’s Skilling Uganda project, intended to promote technical skills among graduates, have kept public discourse open and the government in search of new ways to improve education.
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