NON-FORMAL EDUCATION IN UGANDA

WHICH WAY?

By Patrick Kiirya – Director LABE

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION ON REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

 Uganda is a poor country

 30% of people live on less than US …. $ (dollar)!

 85% live in rural areas

 Out of 22 million people – 7 million are not literate (Adults)

 Currently there is a big UPE programme – Free but not compulsory primary education:

BUT

 UPE IS OF TRADITIONAL CLASSICAL APPROACH

 18% of children left out

 25% push-out rate/drop out rate

 So UPE is not a cross-cutting solution. Being poor, Uganda is implementing a national poverty eradication Action Plan.

Education is supposed to be one of the tools for poverty eradication. Yet, education is adding to the social and economic inequalities. The few rich people get more quality education of school-based type. The poor get more of school-based education but of lower quality. They do not “pass” and then do not get formal employment.

So formal education is not serving well as a tool of social empowerment and poverty eradication.

We have just started reformulating and rationalizing the role of NFE in Uganda.

Introduction

The commendable UPE programme has not accommodated all children. All children of school age, currently left out are 18%.

Retention of those who enroll is dropping:

The enlarged vision of basic education for all age-groups is not yet a reality with 7 million adults being non-literate, and unknown numbers not functionally literate. Many young people, even those who ever attended school cannot be classified as possessing basic education competencies. The implication, then, is to create innovative ways of addressing better the education demands of people by using flexible approaches with regard to age-range, modes, content, duration, venue and even methods.

Currently, non-formal education encompasses three main categories:

 Non-formal basic education programmes for children, youth and young people

 Basic adult literacy and continuing literacy

 Community development basic learning initiatives

THE NFE STOOL

The NFE can be understood as a stool with three legs:

 Non-formal basic Education for children and youth

 Community Development basic learning initiatives

 Basic adult literacy and Continuing literacy

  • Mainstream NFE demands into PEAP Goals
  • Find out which ministry / CSO is best placed to take lead including private sector.
  • Promote collaboration between different lead agencies.
  • Advocate:
  1. lobby for increased resources in main PEAP budget
  2. develop specific NFE plans
  • Integrate various NFE plans into comprehensive framework

MAIN FEATURES OF NFE IN UGANDA

The NFE tree in Uganda

1. Content:

Small scale processing and marketing, micro finance and grassroot health education, small scale rural production, natural resources education, etc, etc.

  1. Curriculum not fully based on local realities, general learning common.
  2. Various institutional structures; community based associations, etc.
  3. Many examples of local initiatives
  4. Most programmes still experimental
  5. Initial training of workers is too short and theoretical
  6. Inservice training rare

  1. Weak monitoring, little on-going support of workers
  2. Limited funding
  3. Poorly remunerated workers
  4. Low motivation of NFE workers
  5. Weak leadership of cadres
  6. Most NFE work in indigenous languages
  7. English-official language, French, German – prestigious
  8. Little empowering training
  9. Capacity building needed but not demanded

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

  1. What in concrete measurable terms is the contribution of NFE programmes to enrolment, capacities and skills of children, youth and adult learners?
  1. How do NFE programmes assess educational performances, and attainment?
  1. How can we compare even in general terms contribution to national educational attainments of both NFE and FE programmes?
  1. What increases trainability more – NFE or FE?
  1. Is NFE a convincing alternative of providing basic education to disadvantaged children and marginalized youth and adults?
  1. The assumed ability of NFE to achieve literacy in shorter periods than FE – is this provable?
  1. Are there examples of integration of NFE and FE?
  1. What of equivalences? What will be the yardstick to measure various achievements?
  1. In light of various types of NFE, what categories are best suited to address the political, social and economic realities of Uganda?
  1. What role is there for NFE in promoting appropriate new technologies, promoting civic awareness, democratization and human rights, reducing AIDS, building and active civic society and social empowerment?