KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL
ADMINISTRATION

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

COURSE UNIT: ADVANCED SOCIAL POLICY ANALYSIS

COURSE CODE: SA 321

YEAR:III

SEMESTER:I

LECTURER: VENESIO B. BHANGYI & RICHARD

AINOMUGISHA

TASK: 31ST OCTOBER 2020

NAME REG NO SIGNATURE

RUKUNDO BETTY 17/U/13283/SSD/PD
NZOZINZIZA SYLIVIA 17/U/13237/SSD/PD
AKANKWASA STELLAH 17/U/12765/SSD/PD
KEMBABAZI 17/U/12955/SSD/PD
WINNIFRED
ATUHEIRE RUTH 17/U/12840/SSD/PD

COURSEWORK II

UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION POLICY

UPE was introduced in January 1997, following a political commitment by President Museveni
that the Government would meet the cost of primary education of four children per family. This
commitment was soon extended to allow all people that wanted to access primary education to
do so.

1). Brief problem Description

Under the UPE programme, the Government of Uganda abolished all tuition fees and Parents
and
Teachers Association charges for primary education. Following its introduction, gross enrolment
in primary school increased from 3.1 million in 1996 to 7.6 million in 2003. This amounts to an
increase of 145% (4.5 million children), compared to an increase of 39% (0.9 million children)
between 1986 and 1996. This is despite the fact that primary education was not made
compulsory, nor entirely free, since parents were still expected to contribute pens, exercise
books, clothing, and even bricks and labour for classroom construction.
The UPE programme has required a significant increase in public expenditure devoted to
primary
education. Total education expenditure increased from 2.1% GDP in 1995 to 4.8% of GDP in
2000, while the share of the education sector in the national budget increased from 13.7% in
1990 to 24.7% in 1998. More importantly, under the country’s Education Sector Investment
Plan, at least 65% of the education budget must fund primary education. The additional
expenditure has been financed largely from debt relief provided under the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC)
initiative, channeled via the country’s Poverty Action Fund.

2). Title and description

In the words of Penrose quoted by Lubanga (1999, p1): “UPE is the provision of a school system
in which all eligible children are enrolled in schools of at least minimal quality” This definition
incorporates the quality dimension which is an important goal of every education system and
also provides for all children to have access to basic education.

UPE Programme in Uganda was organised is such a way that the government would provide
building materials for classrooms and teachers’ houses, instructional materials inform of
textbooks, and train and pay teachers (ADEA, 2005 ). The parents were to provide labour for
construction work and provide children with uniforms, writing materials and lunch. The
community leaders were to mobilise the parents and children for effective participation and
monitor the implementation process in schools. The actual implementation of the programme
was to be done by the school administration in conjunction with their staff especially by
enrolling and ensuring that children are taught.

The UPE programme in Uganda demonstrates that a poor country with a committed government
and donor support can fight poverty through ensuring universal access to education for its
citizens.

3). The Goals of the policy

Universal Primary Education (UPE) is one of the Government of Uganda’s main policy tools for
achieving poverty reduction and human development. Broadly speaking, its main goals are to:
• Provide the facilities and resources to enable every child to enter and remain in school until
the primary cycle of education is complete;
• Make education equitable in order to eliminate disparities and inequalities;
• Ensure that education is affordable by the majority of Ugandans;
• Reduce poverty by equipping every individual with basic skills.

4). Description of the services

In Uganda, the UPE program has its roots in the recommendations of the Kajubi Commission –
Education Policy Review Commission – which reviewed the state of education between 1987-89
and recommended a set of reforms in the country’s education system, including universalizing
primary education. Government accepted the resulting White Paper and the UPE
recommendation
in 1992 (Kakuru 2003).
During the general elections of 1996, the incumbent President, Yoweri Museveni, made the
introduction UPE a campaign pledge, promising free primary education for four children per
family. The implementation of UPE accordingly started in January 1997. All tuition fees and
Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) charges4 for primary education were abolished.
Universal Primary Education (UPE) policy in the form of fee abolition has become popular in
Uganda for achieving Education for All (EFA) since the mid-1990s (Avenstrup et al. 2004;
UNESCO 2008). In Uganda, UPE introduced fee abolition policies).

5). Eligibility rules

During the general elections of 1996, the incumbent President, Yoweri Museveni, made the
introduction UPE a campaign pledge, promising free primary education for four children per
family. The implementation of UPE accordingly started in January 1997. All tuition fees and
Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) charges4 for primary education were abolished.
However, when the implementation of UPE started, the registration limit of four children per
family proved problematic, particularly regarding the exact definition of a family. In 2002,
Government dropped this restriction, and allowed all people that wanted primary education
under the UPE program to do so (Overseas Development Institute, 2005).
As a result, primary school enrolment – including the probability that children start primary
school on time – dramatically increased, while at the same time access inequalities relating to
gender, income and location also reduced (Grogan 2008). Yet dropout rates5 and grade repetition
(at approx. 12% per annum)6 remain high, and it is unlikely that all Ugandan children will be
able to complete the full course of primary schooling by 2015 (MoFPED 2013).

6). Service delivery system

Key partners involved in the service delivery system of the UPE policy include the Ministry of
Education and Sports, local authorities, and the school management committees elected by
parents.
Ministry of Education and Sports
The main roles of the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in the implementation of UPE,
as specified in the guidelines of 1998, are as follows:
• Training and retraining of teachers;
• Providing instructional materials in the form of textbooks and teachers’ guides;
• Contributing to the construction of basic school facilities (e.g. classrooms, libraries);
• Supervising, monitoring and evaluating the implementation of UPE;
• Providing curriculum, monitoring and assessment standards.
7). Financing
In terms of expenditure, the MoES provides two types of grants for UPE, namely capitation
(fees) grants and school facilities grants. Capitation grants are paid on the basis of the number of
students
enrolled in a school and the level of education.

Government has been allocating funds to the UPE scheme forexample Ushs 1 billion in the
budget of FY 2019/20 for the roll out of the early grade reading in all the districts.

Government invested about Ushs. 990 billion in the implementation of UPE and Ushs. 926
billion in the actualization of the USE

Government has invested more than Ushs. 2 trillion in the realization of UPE and USE since the
inception of the programmes.

Economic growth which currently stands at Ushs. 128.5 trillion (US$ 34.2 billion), will be able
to adequately finance investments in human capital development and more specifically, universal
primary and secondary education over the medium Term.

The support from the World Bank of US$ 200million towards the implementation of the policy.

8). Analysis of the policy

About 93% of primary school age children in equal gender proportions are enrolled in school,
compared to only 40% in 1986 and early 90's.

According to the report, the UPE policy has positively impacted on household incomes. Other
wellbeing indicators such as completing 7 years of primary education increases household
incomes by 10.2%.

The report recommends increasing UPE financing towards a per capita of UGX 59,000 for rural
schools and UGX 63,000 for urban schools from the current range of about UGX 14,000.

The report concludes that UPE policy has been fundamental in achieving key educational goals
since its inception in 1997.
The government should continue to ensure the right of access to education for all its citizens as
clearly spelt out in the objectives of the UPE policy.

Despite its recent rapid expansion, UPE policy has a long history in Uganda. Existing
literatures indicate that previous attempts to achieve UPE faced problems in its supply-driven
policies, unclear mechanisms, and low quality of education (Allison 1983; Bray 1986; Prince
1997; Sifuna 2007). The past experiences show that UPE policy implementation is prone to be
affected by economic crisis (Obasi 2000; Sifuna 2007). A number of lessons exist from the
past; however, the current UPE policy severely lacks analytical studies on its impacts and
challenges beyond school enrollment (Nishimura et al. 2008).

The significant increase in primary school enrolment is also an indication that the
payment of school fees was a big impediment to accessing education, especially for poor
families. Nevertheless, there are still ways in which the programme could be improved. These
include tackling institutional constraints to the delivery of quality education services, taking
advantage of opportunities offered by the liberalisation of the education sector, and reducing
inequity in access to education and the quality of education across districts and between rural
and urban areas.
REFERENCES

Bategeka, L. et al (2004), Financing Primary Education for All: Uganda,

Institute of Development Studies, and University of Sussex.

Ministry of Education and Sports (2003), Uganda Education Statistics

Abstract 2003

Ministry of Education and Sports (1998), Guidelines on Policy, Roles, and

Stakeholders in the Implementation of Universal Primary Education

Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (2004),

Expenditure Release Tracking Study.

Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (2004), Poverty

Eradication Action Plan (PEAP).