In Rural Northern Uganda, UPE is failing to deliver on its Promise of Providing Quality Education.

A section of locals in Amuru district have said Universal Primary Education (UPE) has failed to fulfil its promise of providing quality education in the district.They were speaking a week before the commencement of the UPE 2019 Examinations during a Kabake community dialogued that airs weekly on 102 Mega FM in Gulu. Supported by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Kabake is the longest funded radio programme in Uganda.
Speaking during the dialogue, Oketch Solomon Oyet said “personally I am working hard to ensure that my children attend private schools where they are taught better than in UPE schools where slow learners are not taken care of by teachers who are demotivated,”
Okot Charles, another local said classes in UPE schools always have too many pupils that teachers fail to handle.
“You will find one class having over 200 pupils, only those in front are able to hear and understand what the teacher says,” He said
Ocitti Paul another local said many learners are dropping out of school after primary seven because parents fail to adjust to paying school fees.
“UPE has made many parents lazy. After getting free education for seven years, many parents fail to prepare financially for their children to join secondary school,” he said.
Watmon Santo noted that its only in UPE schools where teachers are being caught drunk during class hours.
“UPE has made the standard of education to drop. Teachers are now drunkards. Many are preferring to ride boda-boda to earn extra income at moments when they should be in class teaching,” He said.
Ocen Patrick noted that UPE schools no longer hold co-curricular activities like debates which are aimed at helping pupils become good speakers and enhance their confidence.
“Whenever I look through my son’s books, I do not see any assignments given to him by the teachers. He is just getting worse in class,” Ocen said.
Opio Churchill who resigned his job as a primary school teacher some time back says he was tired of the poor working conditions in UPE schools.
“I was a UPE teacher but I quit and became a community based trainer for the speed school project with Acholi Education Initiative-a Non-Governmental Organization,”
Speed School Program is an accelerated learning technique to deliver a condensed primary school curriculum to out of school children to enable them join formal primary schools.
Meanwhile, Opwonya Ambrose, also decried UPE’s pedagogical approach which isn’t comprehensive in nature. “Our children are getting free education but they learn nothing at the end of the day. Even discipline among pupils has become very poor in UPE schools. Our children are unable to express themselves in English,” he said.
However, another section of the Amuru residents still attributed their ability to read and write to UPE.
Akwongo Yolanda, the L.C 1 chairperson of Jimo village said UPE has helped her children get basic education.
“How would I have managed to educate all my nine children without UPE? At least they have learnt to speak English and they now help to translate for me,” Akwongo said.
Akwongo noted that even children of persons with disabilities are now able to send their children to school because of UPE.

Alice Alal, an official with Acholi Education Initiative who also attended the Kabake said a lot needs to be done to improve the quality of education in UPE schools.
She cited recruitment of more teachers, construction of classrooms and teachers’ quarters at Jimo primary school which had an enrolment of 609 pupils at the beginning of first term only has 498 pupils.
UPE was started in 1997 as part of a national policy to provide free primary education for underprivileged children.
Report by Justine Muboka
