By Samuel Olara

25^th June 2012:

Posh and Private: St Mary's Coll Kitende

In Uganda, children from peasant families are being condemned to failure because of an “apartheid” system of education that has been allowed to flourish unabated, driven by the ability to pay rather than merit.

The declining quality of Uganda’s education system must be a concern to all Ugandans.  Along almost every dimension of comparison in our education system today, there has developed glaring inequalities that clearly show a lack of concern for not only the welfare of our children, but also for the education system itself as an institution.

The natural instinct of every parent is to secure advantages for their children in later life. In education, parents see a clear route to a better life for their children, and many in today’s society regard some level of education as a right.

The degree of education will of course vary, but must never depend on the ability to pay.  It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that a functioning education system exists for every child in its territory regardless of their status or background.

In Uganda however, education has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous – and will soon only be accessible by the chosen few. Our education system, which once produced world acclaimed scholars and professionals, has now been reduced to one whose products are mere minions.

Unlike in other countries where previous achievements are surpassed by successive generations, in Uganda, nostalgic references are always made to the feats of the past without any attempt to repeat or re-enact the same.

This state of affairs has arisen because of the mushrooming private schools.  Built to cater for the needs of the “1986 billionaires”, and largely owned by government officials, private schools are perpetuating a form of “social apartheid” that will produce a political class drawn from a “segregated money-eyed elite”.

This continued entrenchment of social and economic inequality, and the consolidation of privilege has become the preserve of our ‘progressive’ NRM society – one where the top 2% own 65% of the country’s wealth.  This “apartheid” represents a significant move against those who occupy the top-end of the social hierarchy, and education is one way to ensure that this “apartheid” continues.

Children from poorest families are half as likely to achieve good Primary Leaving Examination results, let alone attain a Master’s Degree – because their parents cannot afford the exorbitant fees levied by private schools.  They are also three times more likely to be excluded from any form of white collar employment.

Our public schools are now shadows of their past, intentionally “killed” to pave way for what has become one of Uganda’s most lucrative businesses.  Private schools literally “purchased” the right to provide education from a government that abdicated its responsibility long ago.

Ugandans of our generation must consider themselves fortunate to have been schooled in the Uganda of 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. There was hardly a market for private education then – because quality education was available in public schools where children from both poor and rich families went.

You had children of Presidents, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Civil Servants and other government officials and millionaires mixing with the children of peasants and those from middle class backgrounds.  Social mobility was thus enabled – which allowed able children from peasant families to rise above the conditions of their birth.

And because they mixed freely at school, children from privileged families were also exposed to the sort of diversity that helped educate them about the realities of their fellow citizens, thereby creating a sense of community across the social strata – and fact which contributed towards social cohesion.

It was the ancient Greek historian Plutarch who said that: “An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.”

That ailment is now deeply rooted – all because President Museveni decided to swallow the IMF’s poisonous “structural adjustment” pill and embarked on a programme of privatisation, foreign investment and public spending cuts which have consistently denied crucial funding to publicly-run schools, but encouraged a business driven form of schooling in Uganda.

The former head of the IMF, Michel Camdessus, once said that, “the widening gaps between rich and poor within nations” is “morally outrageous, economically wasteful and potentially socially explosive”.

By allowing millions of Ugandan children to struggle without “adequate educational opportunities” which are only available to the well-off, Uganda’s rulers have created conditions that are inflaming social tensions which will inevitably explode.  So the options are stark and clear.

The NRM can continue down the path of “separate development” in which the best facilities are available to a tiny few, but must be prepared to reap the whirlwind when the resentment and tensions reach boiling point.

Or they can remember their constitutional obligations and invest in our public schools and create adequate educational opportunities for all according to merit and not ability to pay.  END.  Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates

Follow us: Twitter: @UGCorrespondent

Follow us: Facebook: Uganda Correspondent

Mr Olara is a human rights advocate and editor of Acholi Times. olarasamuel@hotmail.com