A case study on the effect of 1997 universal primary education policy in Wakiso, Uganda

2021년 2월

서울대학교 대학원

협동과정 글로벌교육협력 전공

강예린(Yerin KANG)

The need for basic education and/or primary education has received attention

internationally, particularly during the 1990s and 2000s. Developing countries in

Sub-Saharan Africa have introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) policies,

which are often accompanied by fee abolition. The subsequent rapid growth of

enrollment rates has led to a variety of quantitative and qualitative limits in the

educational field. In addition, the emergence and expansion of private schools has

raised questions of the role they play within the post-UPE policy educational

landscape.

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of

UPE in Ugandan education by examining its effects on Wakiso. This study is an

exploratory case study using multiple sources of data such as interviews,

observations, and news articles. The major interview participants included parents

with different income levels. Officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports

(MoES) and the Department of Education in Wakiso and officials from

government and private primary schools also provided input to facilitate

understanding the interviews with parents. A connecting strategy is used for data

analysis by deducing or inferring relevant concepts or explanations using collected

data, then organizing them in their relevant “in-context” form (Maxwell, 2012).

Through this analysis, three major points are identified. First, as extra school

fees appeared in government schools in Wakiso due to the competition

surrounding the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), government schools

became less accessible for those who wished to stay in Wakiso. In addition, this

competition has led to the outflow of teachers from government to private schools.

Since the educational quality of schools is evaluated through PLE results, this has

led to a test-oriented culture in education. Due to the abundance of choice and

competition among schools, parents have conflated high fees and quality of

instruction and education.

Second, by analyzing interview anecdotes of parents from various socioeconomic classes, this study shows a widening gap among schools and students,

although they all hope to achieve high PLE grades. There is a wide array of schools

and options for parents to select from, from low-fee government schools all the

way to high-fee private schools. It was evident that the scope of choice is

dependent upon where the households are situated on the socio-economic ladder.

Moreover, the interviews revealed that parents who could not afford school fees in

Wakiso simply sent their children to rural areas; this shows that the educational

inequality within Wakiso has been disseminated to a wider region.

Third, this study reveals the pervasive and common anxiety and instability

regarding education, regardless of socio-economic class. The interviews show that

children from all socio-economic levels face a variety of adversities, including

being suspended, transferred, and held back from advancing to the next grade. This

happens not only for low-income families, but also for families who decide to send

their children to higher-fee private schools to obtain higher PLE scores, which

sometimes results in children being transferred in a manner that is disruptive to

their education.

These three characteristic phenomena imply that the PLE and interests of

parents in it have played important roles in shaping the educational landscape in

Wakiso, Uganda. Therefore, this study suggests that a higher education

examination system as well as the perception and behavior of parents regarding it

must be taken into account when considering how to better understand primary

education policy in Uganda as well as other developing countries.