Focus on access to quality education

 

By Chris Ocowun

 

The 20-year-old armed conflict in northern Uganda has had a negative impact and grossly affected the lives of children in the region. The rate of children especially girls dropping-out of schools is alarming, teenagers and adolescents have been abducted, several have been displaced, and many are orphaned and out of school. SCF is working to help end this.

 

"The armed conflict has affected education of children in this part of Uganda grossly, school facilities were destroyed, desks used for cooking, schools turned into barracks, teachers and children abducted and others killed and humiliated," the head teacher of Pakwelo primary school in Aswa county, Gulu district, Jackson Onencan reveals.

 

"The fighting forces vandalized school facilities, girls were raped and some were killed during crossfire. Onencan narrates. He says the children in northern Uganda are generally traumatized and need counseling and guidance by trained counselors. Some parents have lost hope due to the prolonged armed conflict in northern Uganda .

 

They have a negative attitude towards education; they keep their children at home selling water, looking after the young ones, besides collecting firewood. "The rate of girl-child dropout is higher than that of the boys due to the cultural, social and economic status of the parents. Many parents take boys to schools but the girls are not allowed to complete primary. Girls keep at home looking after the young, collecting firewood, fetching and carry out petty businesses in the markets," the District Education Officer Pader, Charles Amone lamented.

 

Amone castigates some parents for depriving the children of the opportunity to go to school. "Some parents put the children to do work which is exploitative in nature like roasting maize, selling water and cooking for the family members when other children are in school. There is great need to sensitize the parents in the camps to change their attitude towards education and especially of the girls," he says.

 

Construction of classroom blocks at Pakwelo P. 7 School in Awer
with financial support from Save the Children in Uganda

 

The insurgency displaced many schools from their original sites which were closer to the IDP camps. Jimo primary school is one such school. It was displaced from its original site about 4km north of Awer IDP camp in Lamogi sub county, Kilak county, Gulu district. The head teacher, Lucy Langol says that when the school was displaced to Awer camp, they were studying under trees and the children would abandon classes and join their parents in the huts when it rained. She adds that as a result of the war, there are so many child-headed families and most of them don't go to school. They are taking care of the young. The few who go to school leave for home early to prepare for the siblings.

 

Save the Children implements a unique programme to help children rewrite their future. Over 30,000 children affected by the armed conflict in Gulu district out of an estimated 119,000 displaced children in the district will benefit from the programme.

 

The emphasis is on child-friendly learning environments that can attract and encourage each and every child go to school. The programme aims at increasing access to education, besides focusing on quality education and asking government to increase funding in the education sector, particularly for children affected by armed conflict.

 

The head teachers of Pakwelo and Jimo primary schools say that due to the interventions Save the Children has launched so many children who used to remain in the camps playing and carry out petty businesses are going back to

school.

 

"In fact, Save the Children has done a lot in the schools. Save the Children has constructed new classrooms for us, and put up new latrines. Initially we where conducting lessons in dilapidated buildings. They are supporting clubs in schools like scouting and girl guides. For the first time girl guides from my school went up to Kaazi for camping to represent the district," Langol says.

 

Save the Children is carrying out training of school head teachers and their deputies and school management committees and PTAs to sensitize them on their roles in the education of children. She says they are now able to manage their funds, personnel and discipline the children.

 

"Parents now know their role regarding the education of their children. Teachers have been reminded and awakened on their code of conduct that they had learnt from the college long time ago."

 

Many children have been attracted back to school because of the free scholastic materials like books, pens, pencils and mathematical sets that are being given by Save the Children. Save the Children's Emergency Education Officer, Sammy Poro says the number of girl children at lower classes is high but as they approach P.5 to P.7 they begin to drop out at high rates and only few of them complete and sit for PLE,"

 

"We want to see that each and every child accesses education. And that is why we want to increase the number of classrooms, and improve on retention in schools so that they can complete the primary education cycle. Save the Children is constructing three blocks of seven classrooms in Pakwelo Primary school .

 

“Before Save the Children's intervention, we had fourteen dilapidated temporary classrooms structures. But now, the children are coming back to school and the numbers have risen. In 2005, we had 1,252 pupils but by the end of second term, the number had increased to 1300." Pakwelo head teacher Jackson Onencan says.

 

Besides constructing classrooms and pit latrines in the schools, Save the Children is also supporting co-curriculum activities like drama, basket ball, football, volley ball clubs and many more because we have learnt that these are the things that attract children to school.

 

Sammy says that Save the Children is training senior female teachers to train the girl child on how to make reusable sanitary pads so that they can take care of themselves while in school without dropping out.

 

"We are also constructing separate latrines for the girls where they can change their sanitary pads and wash when experiencing menstruation. This is one of the reasons why many girls drop out of school,"

 

"We are emphasizing that in order to attract all the children to school and access education; the school management must get alternative means of disciplining children other than caning or beating. We should avoid corporal punishment and replace it with child-friendly punishments so that the children don't run away from school," he says.