Watchdog Uganda
Ruto was scheduled to fly to Entebbe, accompanied by a seven-man entourage comprising of his close political allies and businessmen.
However according to Nation newspaper, the Deputy President was dramatically denied from boarding a flight to Uganda for not seeking clearance as all civil servants should.
The plane he was to use; a Cessna 560XL registered using tail number 5Y WHB, had already been prepared for flight but its crew was told at the last minute that their VVIP guest would not be flying after all.
The DP’s office protested what it termed a change of rules on his foreign travels without notice.
“We are surprised the Deputy President was denied clearance to go on a planned private visit to Uganda. It is our officers who always handle his travel and this time, they were told, that he must get clearance from Immigration to fly out. In all his travels, all these years, this has not happened,†the DP’s office said through his communication secretary David Mugonyi.
DP Ruto visited President Museveni earlier in July, part of a camaraderie the two leaders have cemented in the last six years.
The visit, which saw the DP attend the unveiling of a vaccine manufacturing facility in Matuga-Wakiso district, was the fifth in the last six years.
]]>Tycoon Sudhir reopens his city shopping malls under strict SOPshttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210802/118452/tycoon-sudhir-reopens-his-city-shopping-malls-under-strict-sops.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 14:40:36 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118452Businessman Sudhir Ruparelia through his Crane Management Services (CMS) has urged tenants on his shopping malls in Kampala to strictly observe the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) put in place by the Ministry of Health as they resume business.Dr Sudhir’s plea follows President Yoweri Museveni’s last week move of allowing among others Kikuubo trading centre,malls and arcades to resume operations following the expiration of the 42 days of Covid-19 induced lockdown.
Addressing the nation on the progress of Covid-19 fight in the country last Friday, President Museveni said business centres should reopen but under strict observance of SOPs.
Now, CMS has put in place SOPs that must be followed by their tenants as they go about their businesses to avoid the spread of the pandemic.
The shopping malls under Crane Management Limited include; Kampala Boulevard, Eagle Plaza, Hardware Plaza, Market Plaza, Royal Plaza, and The Cube among others.
The conditions put in place at the opened shopping centres are;
1. Wear Your Face Mask
2. Sanitize
3. Observe Social Distance
4. Wash Hands
Accordingly, 24-hr Surveillance has been put in place to ensure compliance to the mentioned SOPs.
About CMS:
With a story that starts in the 90’s, CMS has spent decades defining real estate greatness in Uganda. Since then, CMS has grown to become the leading real estate management company in Uganda and has also spread its wings into Rwanda.
The company which is under Ruparelia Group takes on real estate management service with passion and it will continue to set pace for real estate management in the country.
CMS’ Real Estate Verticals Include: Office space, Retail Space, Commercial Space, Residential Space, Warehousing and Consultancy.
]]>Thugs who attacked Indian accountant in Kampala arrestedhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210802/118445/thugs-who-attacked-indian-accountant-in-kampala-arrested.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 12:44:16 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118445Police in Kampala is holding 12 suspects who allegedly attacked an Indian businessman last man.This has been disclosed by Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) Spokesperson Charles Twiine.
“12 suspects have been arrested, and three motorcycles retrieved following a heightened Intelligence led operation as helped by CCTV police cameras against these motorcycle organized gangs,†Twiine tweeted on Monday.
He further noted that the suspects confessed to the crime and properly guided the police to scene reconstruction.
Background:
The territorial Police at Kira road last month kicked off an investigation into a robbery incident that happened on Saturday 24/7/2021.
The incident happened at around 12pm along Mawanda Road in Kamwokya.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigire said the victim Jiwan Lal an accountant working with Rigil agro peck limited in Kololo was attacked by 14 men travelling on seven motorbikes.
“The victim was surrounded and assaulted continuously until his money amounting to 5 million Uganda shillings and 2 phones were stolen from him,†Owoyesigyire said.
“The police recorded statements from eye witnesses and has started following up on leads that have proven helpful in identifying the suspects for arrest.â€
]]>Shock as man attempts to burn wife for denying him sexhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210802/118442/shock-as-man-attempts-to-burn-wife-for-denying-him-sex.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 09:38:53 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118442A man in Rubanda District has attempted to kill his wife for allegedly denying him sex.Kwesiga Denis aged 34, a resident of Bigyegye village in Muko Sub County on Sunday evening burnt his house while expecting that his wife was inside.
At around 5:30 pm, Kwesiga went home with anger determined to end the life of his wife Ahimbisibwe Rachael for allegedly denying him sex and starving him for a long time.
Ahimbisibwe aged,35 who got married to Kwesiga 5 years ago, survived the death by God’s grace since the house was torched when she had just moved to the neighborhood.
Conflicts between the couple started some weeks ago over marital issues.
Kwesiga has been leaving home every day in the morning and returned home late in the night which annoyed his wife. It became his daily routine and the Ahimbisibwe could not control her anger thus deciding to teach him a lesson through denying him sex.
On Sunday evening, concerned citizens from Bigyegye village were shocked to see Kwesiga’s house on fire and rushed to the scene. It was later discovered that Kwesifa wanted to kill his wife by burning her inside the house.
Kwesiga was immediately arrested by angry neighbors who tied him and interogated him. He accepted that he wanted to finish off the wife for excessive punishment of denying him sex and food. The wife also admitted that the husband became a ‘useless’ and forgot all his family obligations which extremely angered her.
]]>Abayimbi okuli Bebe Cool, Chameleon nabalala basabye obuwumbi 9 mu obukadde 400 okuva ewa Gen. Salehhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210802/118438/abayimbi-okuli-bebe-cool-chameleon-nabalala-basabye-obuwumbi-9-mu-obukadde-400-okuva-ewa-gen-saleh.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 09:03:50 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118438ABAYIMBI okuli Yosefu Mayanja amanyiddwanga Dr. Jose Chameleon, Moses Ssali amanyiddwanga Bebe Cool ne banaabwe abalala bangi beewunyisizza ensi bwe bagenze ewa Gen. Salim Saleh ne bamusaba abawe ensimbi za Uganda obuwumbi 9 mu obukadde 400 beddaabulule mu mbeera gye bayiseemu nga bali mu muggalo.Bano nga ennaku zino baagunjaawo ekibiina kye bayita The new Uganda Superstars Musicians Association bagamba nti okusaba ensimbi zino kibagwanira kubanga bakoseddwa nnyo omuggalo okuva ebivvulu byabwe lwe byaggalwawo olw’ekirwadde kya covid 19.
Omukulembeze waabwe nga ye Chameleon agamba nti ekibasabizza ensimbi zino kwe kugezaako okutaasa ekisaawe kyokuyimba mu ggwanga nti kubanga bangi ku bbo esuubi libaweddemu nga bwe batyo beetaaga okweddabulula mu byenfuna.
Amannya gabayimbi abagenda okufuna ku kavuAbagenda okuganyulwa mu ntekateeka eno bawerera ddala 26, era nga bwe bati bwe baagala okutematema ekintu kyabwe Chameleone ayagala awebwe obukadde 800, Pallaso 821, David Lutalo 420, Bebe Cool 670, Winnie Nwagi 380, Azawi 250 nabalala ku lukalala wammanga.
Ekibiina kyabano kyatandikibwawo mu mwezi gw’omukaaga omwaka guno.
]]>ABBEY KIBIRIGE SEMUWEMBA: Astrazeneca clotting is being intentionally exaggerated https://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210802/118439/abbey-kibirige-semuwemba-astrazeneca-clotting-is-being-intentionally-exaggerated.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 08:54:50 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118439It’s so tricky to see the wood through the trees these days. So much “information†is going around on social media (true or false). The 18-30 demographic are the most avid users of social media by far and the most vaccine skeptical. Now, there is a meme going around warning people off AstraZeneca in Uganda because it has been banned in Norway while the later is donating the same vaccine to Uganda. Oh Norway!Having had both AstraZeneca jabs with zero reaction myself, just like the huge majority of people I know here in the UK, I would say it’s more likely that the clotting effect of the vaccine is being exaggerated. That’s the thing with statistics; they give you what is called a p value. There is a very low chance of clotting, which may occur in around 4-6 people in every million after being vaccinated. Latest figures show that only 399 of the 25m people, who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK, have had clotting â€" causing 71 deaths.
There’s intentional ‘‘dirty’’ marketing going on against AstraZeneca and I find it so unfair. Pfizer and Johnson have the same rare clotting effect as AstraZeneca but the media isn’t making a meal out of it. There was a study of more than a million people in Spain, and found that incidents of rare blood clots happened at a “similar†rate with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Anyway, a lot of studies show that one is likely to get blood clots from Covid-19 than the jab. Covid-19 could also lead to strokes, or thrombocytopenia (a lowering of the platelet count). So, why are people waging a war on something that is helping to fight the virus? It doesn’t make sense to me.
Blood clots could be got from a lot of other things, too, other than the vaccines, but the anti-vaccine group rarely points this out, because they want vaccines to look bad. 1 in 2000 women each year will develop a blood clot from taking the combined oral contraceptive pill. 1 in 1000 people a year will develop a blood clot from air travel. Basically, the risk of clots and lower platelets is much higher with covid-19 than vaccines. Any long term side effects from vaccines are vanishingly small and the vast majority are in the short term of days to weeks.
All drugs are continued to be monitored following approval as its standard practice and known as phase 4 trials (also referred to as post marketing surveillance). This happens following the approval of a drug for public use to monitor the performance in real life scenarios.
AstraZeneca works by stimulating the body’s natural defenses (immune system). It causes the body to produce its own protection (antibodies) against the virus. This will help to protect you against COVID-19 in the future. None of the ingredients in this vaccine can cause COVID-19.
The vaccine rollout in the UK has been one of the best in the world. Almost 90% of the adult population has received one dose and ~65% fully vaccinated. Only 35% of 18-30 year olds are unvaccinated. Often side effects are a sign that the vaccine is doing its job.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 is claiming many unvaccinated and deniers now. 90% of hospitalizations here in the UK, are in unvaccinated and a small % of these a single jab. They seem to be happy to play Russian roulette with their health and have no responsibility about being 100% transmissible to others. The jabs have reduced deaths, hospitalities and also meant our lives are slowly going back to normal!
]]>Prophet Elvis Mbonye puts nation on alert, to announce something big tomorrowhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210802/118432/prophet-elvis-mbonye-puts-nation-on-alert-to-announce-something-big-tomorrow.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 07:40:50 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118432Known for his bizarre claims and prophecies, self-styled Prophet Elvis Mbonye has again put the nation on red notice after revealing that he will be announcing something big on Tuesday 3rd August, 2021.“Mark the day and time !!! Secret perspectives with Prophet Elvis Mbonye,â€SPECIAL PROPHETIC UPDATE! Prophet Elvis Mbonye live on Facebook this Tuesday August 03, 2021 at 2:00 pm East African Time (EAT)!! Usikose.
#ProphetElvisMbonye, Mbonye said on his Facebook page on Monday.
Last year in April, Mbonye claimed that he confronted the devil head on in a physical fist fight in which he was (devil) left nursing wounds. Mbonye’s allegation left those opposed to his prophecies and controversial statements saying his claim sounds illogical and unreasonable.
Prior Mbonye had been a subject of online debate after he claimed that God had told him about the Covid-19 crisis months earlier but he had chosen not to tell his followers nor warn the world about the pandemic before it started ravaging many countries on earth.
“When I got this prophecy about this [Covid19 pandemic] that we are facing, I thought to myself ‘won’t followers think that it’s a virus just like many others in China,†the Zoe Ministries lead pastor said in a video that went viral online.
The ‘prophet’ later decided to keep mum about the revelation reasoning that it wouldn’t minister to the remnants that follow him and that many people wouldn’t believe him in case he made the assertion known to the public.
]]>REAGAN VAN KEAGAN MUGABI: School closure responsible for high increase of child laborhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210802/118426/reagan-van-keagan-mugabi-school-closure-responsible-for-high-increase-of-child-labor.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 06:41:58 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118426July 19, 2021 â€" aka “Freedom Day†â€" saw the remaining coronavirus restrictions eased across the UK. Here in Uganda, the First lady who doubles as the Minister of Education released Primary Leaving Exam results but did not tell us when the “new†Senior One students will start their secondary school journey.This is the only country where they have two sets of S1 students. Others started at the beginning of the year even before Senior One results were released, while the second set waited for results to be released. The other day my daughter was asking me about the other batch of Senior one students who began in March 2021. Clearly, I did not have answers to her questions so I reminded her of the food she was cooking.
Unlike my daughter who helps around the home by cooking some family meals and washing dishes during lockdown, many other children are caught up in much more taxing work. The unprecedented economic impact of the lockdown coupled with school closures and inadequate or nonexistent government assistance is pushing children into exploitative and dangerous child labor.
This makes the rise in child labor an inevitable consequence of the pandemic.
A 69-page report, “‘I Must Work to Eat’: Covid-19, Poverty, and Child labor in Ghana, Nepal, and Uganda†examines the rise in child labor and poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the pandemic’s impact on children’s rights. In the report, children described working long, grueling hours for little pay after their parents lost jobs or income due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.
Many described hazardous working conditions, and some reported violence, harassment, and pay theft.
The vast majority of children interviewed for the report said that the pandemic and associated lockdowns had a negative effect on their families. Many entered the workforce for the first time to support their families. Some said they decided to work because their families did not have enough food. Children are working as house cleaners, shamba-boys, in stone quarries, others are mining sand because families are starving.
Some of the work that children are doing is clearly hazardous. At stone quarries, children reported injuries from flying stones, including sharp particles that got into their eyes. Children showed researchers cuts from the “slashers†they used to clear fields or the sharp edges of sugarcane stalks. Others described carrying heavy loads.
Many said they worked long hours.
In Uganda, nearly half of the children interviewed worked at least 10 hours a day, some 7 days a week. Several children said they worked as much as 16 hours a day!
There’s a particularly hurting story I came across after schools closed in June 2021, due to Covid-19 when district borders were closed. A boy had traveled from Manafwa district in Eastern Uganda on foot to earn a living at a maize mill in downtown Kampala! Most of these children earn less than 4,000 shillings per day (US$1.1) and sometimes, the employers refuse to pay them or pay less than was promised. Imagine a 12-year-old girl who typically earns only 5,000 shillings (US$1.39) a week crushing stones at a quarry said that her employer often paid her even less if he wasn’t satisfied with the size of the stones.
Some children said their earnings did not always provide enough money for food. This is gross abuse of children rights and the world shouldn’t be quiet when injustices like these are taking place.
The most painful thing about this whole lockdown is that the government has not prioritized cash allowances to protect children’s rights and enable families to maintain an adequate standard of living without resorting to child labor. Last month, members of the Ugandan parliament gave themselves money for cars worth 200 million each yet the cash assistance promised to Ugandans has never reached their mobile phones. The money that the MPs gave themselves should have been cash allowances to families with children.
This would have contributed to a significant decrease in child labor. Now that the money is already “eatenâ€, let the Ugandan government release all the promised cash assistance to families to prevent further increase in poverty and child labor. Mr. President, this is not a request but a demand. Children must be protected from hard/child labor.
Reagan Van Keagan Mugabi
reaganv66@gmail.com
Human Rights Activist
President Museveni ordered the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) Executive Director Ms Allen Kagina to award contracts to four foreign companies to construct roads around Uganda in a pre-financing agreement. This means the companies will use their money to build the roads and government would pay later in installments.
“This is to therefore direct you to enter the agreement with CICO to pre-finance them and ensure that the right government procedures are taken. The government of Uganda will provide budgetary appropriations in quarterly installments from the third year of execution,†reads a letter dated 21st June 2021.
As per the law, any company that wants to render services to the public under government docket must undergo bidding and the winner is given a contract. After that government gives that company a certificate of due diligence.
However, to the President, such law seems irrelevant because in a letter dated 29th July 2021 seen by this website, Museveni asks Kagina to give Ashoka Buildcon limited a contract to construct Mpigi-Kibibi-Mityana road (60KM) and other two roads.
In the letter, he said, “Ashoka Buildcon Limited have approached me proposing to construct and pre-finance the construction and building of roads; Mpigi-Kibibi- Mityana roads (60km), Kanungu-Hamurwa (47km) and Butogota-Buhoma (32km). I, therefore, direct you to enter into an agreement with that company to design and build these roads since they are under NDPIII.â€
Museveni added that due diligence was already made and the said company has a strong financial position to finance the mentioned roads.
“It should be agreed that the government of Uganda pays them through budgetary appropriations in quarterly installments from a third of execution,†reads the letter.
However, Engineer Sebamala has strong reservations about the move. He said this is not the first time the president is bypassing the law to award contracts.
“The issuing of projects by the head of state leaves no room for competition in disguise of long procurement processes. Bidding is the only transparent method that can be used for procurement of works and services with regard to value for money,†Sebamala said.
“It should be noted that this is not the first time the president of the Republic of Uganda sabotages the procurement process for the different projects,†the BUkoto legislator said,
“Last year, as the bidding process of Mityana Mubende was ongoing, it was stopped three days to handing in of bid documents in favour of direct procurement.
“This also manifested in the procurement of Jinja Express Highway after two years of evaluating potential companies that could undertake the project.
“It should be noted that UNRA has spent trillion of shillings on direct procurements. This undermines the PPDA Act let alone the fact that we believe there is no value for money since the bidding process has been foregone â€"
During the bidding process, the competition among the companies examines competency, efficiency, and consistency with minimum corruption tendencies.
Other companies
The other company he seconded in another letter dated 15th May 2021 is Zhongmei Engineering group which is going to pre-finance Kanoni-Misingi-Mityana road(37km).
“This is a Chinese company which has financed and completed many roads in Uganda. This is therefore to direct you enter into this company to design and build this road since it’s in NDP III. It must be agreed that it will be paid in quarterly installments from the second year of execution.â€
The third one is Chongqing International Construction Cooperation (CICO) which is going to design and construct Kabwohe-Kitagata-Rukungiri (65.7km) and Masindye-Kabimbiri-Zirobwe-Wobulezi-Kapeeka (138km).
Also, in a letter date 21 June 2021, President Museveni ordered Kagina to give the contract to China Communication Construction Co. LTD (CCCC). CCCC is to pre-finance the construction and building of Pakwach-Karuma road and Pakwach Bridge, Kisubi-Nakawuka-Natete/ Nakawuka-Kasanje-Mpigi/ Nakawuka-Mawugulu-Nanziga-Maya/Kasanje-Buwaya. Nakasero-Northern Bypass Express VVIP road.
He also ordered that government will provide budgetary appropriations in quarterly installments from the third year of execution.
Summary
Company: Ashoka Buildcorn ltd
Mpigi-Kibibi-Mityana 60km
Kanungu-Hamurwa â€" 47km
Butogota-Buhoma 32km
Company: CCCC
1. Reconstruction of Packwach â€" Karuma road and Pakwach Bridge
2. Kisubi-Nakawuka-Natete\Nakawuka-Kasanje-Mpigi/ Nakawuka-Mawugulu-Nanziga-Maya/Kasanje-Buwaya
3. Nakasero northern bypass express VVIP road
Zhongmei engineering group
1. Kanoni-Misingi-Mityana 37km
CHONGQING International Construction Corporation
1. Kabwohe-Kitagata-Rukungiri 65.7km
2. Misindye-Kabimbiri-Zirobwe-Wobulenzi-Kapeeka- 138km
]]>HENRY MUTEBE: The Bermuda Triangle in Uganda’s Education Pipeline; Where are the Missing 1 Million Children? https://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210802/118421/henry-mutebe-the-bermuda-triangle-in-ugandas-education-pipeline-where-are-the-missing-1-million-children.html Mon, 02 Aug 2021 06:04:19 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118421In 2013, Ministry of Education reports indicated that 1,875,553 children enrolled for Primary one in Uganda. After seven years on the educational conveyer belt, only 736,942 were able to sit Primary Leaving Exams in 2020 when this cohort should have popped out of the first stage of our education pipeline. Unsettlingly, these statistics are not the exception, they have become a permanent fixture in our education statistics.Every seven-year, one-half of the children that join primary school disappear without a trace. There is a Bermuda triangle of sorts, that is vacuuming clean our potential human resource. This tragedy should be an invitation for us to interrogate where these children are going. Most importantly, we need to question whether these children are ‘dropping out’ or are being ‘kicked out’ of school. The pull, push and fall out factors need to be fully examined.
After the release of PLE results, in what has become a permanent feature in our news around this time of the year, newspapers publish screaming headlines coached in pomp and ceremony- to the delight of parents from the middle-class tier. Tragically, the angling of the news on PLE results often veils the tragedy that these results have come to represent. The fact that out of 1.8 million children, only 700,000 complete Primary seven does not unsettle us should be the news- But it is not. But what is going on? At what point are we losing these children? Who are they?
In my view, it would be interesting for the Ministry of Education and Sports to develop an Early Warning System with enough antennas across all classes to flag to the responsible authorities, children at risk, who are about to drop out of school so that strategies and interventions that address their special needs are mounted to halt this sickening hemorrhage.
While the factors that lead to the disappearance of over a million children from school may be both complex and dynamic- ranging from the widespread deprivation and poverty of most households to the hegemonic architecture of our school system that alienates the learner from what should be a co-creating space, there is sufficient evidence that suggests that setting up an Early Warning System to identify students at risk of dropping out, based on a clear set of indicators or red flags can improve the design of response measures.
While there have been efforts to address both the demand and supply side of needs to keep children in school, efforts towards setting up and utilization of early warning systems that signal a red flag at the earliest opportunity â€" before children drop out of school, have not been adequate.
While it is a settled fact that certain indicators are a sure signal for drop out of school, I am yet to fully appreciate whether this information is being collected and used to inform educational programming. We know that while certain shifts in a child’s situation, especially external shocks, can lead to sudden dropout, in most cases, dropping out is a gradual process and most of the factors that mediate it are stable over time. They can be measured, observed, and disrupted.
Usually, children drop out or are kicked out of school after the layers of disadvantage have increased in intensity, been unattended to, making it almost impossible for the child to remain in school. In some studies, there is evidence to suggest that even when the pressures are extreme, it takes about three years for a student to finally cede to the pressure and drop out of school. Therefore, it is possible to observe and track these children at risk and mount responses both in and out of school, to keep them in school.
In many Ugandan schools, there is gradual withdraw from school. The disengagement whether orchestrated by factors at home or in the community or at school is often gradual, goes unnoticed and yet it can be observed. In almost all cases, dropping out is preceded by poor or low school attendance, low or poor academic performance, or poor or disruptive behavior.
You can almost predict with surgical accuracy who will drop out of school by keeping an eye on these three indicators. It would be interesting for the Ministry of Education and sports to develop a system to track these indicators and use the information to develop interventions to support the children.
For many households, once they establish that the cost of keeping the child in school outstrips rewards, and the child is having poor academic performance, which may also be due to factors related to little support they are getting, the family may withdraw the support to the child leading to a drop or fall out.
It is also my opinion that we need to keep an eye on children from extremely impoverished families and perhaps offer more assistance to them. For example, nearly 20% of Uganda’s population is living below the poverty line, 20% of parents should not be paying PLE or UCE registration fees. If it is an established fact that a family is indigent, why would you require that they pay money they cannot even afford to raise for their basic needs?
Imagine the government spends billions to keep the children in school for close to seven years, but then the child drops out because the parent can not afford the registration fees. Some parents should be freed from this burden. This will increase the number of children that complete P.7- at least those who drop out due to failure to raise the registration fees.
The poverty levels in Uganda almost correspond with the child labor figures. Families that are poor will employ their children in work that keeps them away from school, affects their academic performance- eventually leading to a child’s loss of interest in school due to poor performance or their fear of failing to catch up with peers.
If we were able to monitor students that are falling behind in performance, seem less engaged, have irregular attendance, are from ethnic minorities, have lost a parent, come from poor households, orphans, living with elderly, HIV+, PWD parents, are older than their peers, have a chronically disease or are sickly, we would get some answers. It is clear that certain proxies like low performance, poor attendance, and other behaviors in schoolâ€"most of them inspired by the child’s experiences during and after school, can effectively predict school dropout.
By observing school performance, Low achievement, Repetition or being overage for a class, poor engagement at school, poor attendance, low educational expectations, low commitment to school or lack of interest in school, disruptive behavior/Misbehavior/delinquency, we are likely to nip it in the bud.
The design of the school system could be silently ‘excluding’ many learners with abandon. If in any way, were are able to know which students are attending less than 70% of scheduled class time, are two or more years overage for their grade; and are performing two or more years behind academically, especially in English and Arithmetic, and design appropriate support interventions, we would more than halve the number of children dropping out before completing Primary Seven.
Given that delivery of primary education is decentralized, there is urgent need to build the capacity of local governments to observe, monitor and support learners who present these characteristics. Knowing the number of days a child is absent in a month, particular the number of consecutive days a child is absent and the number of days the child is coming late or leaving early would provide timely information that can be used by educational programmers or policymakers to design interventions that respond to their needs in a timely manner.
While this information may be collected, it is not being used to respond to the needs of the learners. Teachers seem to be collecting information as part of their routine. They do not have the training needed to support the multicultural nature of the classroom and explore the experiences of their learners.
Whether the 1.8 million children starting primary one every year, finish the formal educational track or fall out of school, they will end up in the labour market. It is important that we complement formal education with other work-based learning schemes that can improve the employability of our youth. There are many youths joining the labour market without any qualifications or competencies. These youth may not fit within the formal vocational education framework and may need other forms of support to improve their employability and productivity.
It is very possible for Uganda to half the number of children dropping out of school if we develop systems to track at-risk children and design appropriate interventions to support them stay in school. We are burning a lot of money to have these children in school and there should be educational outcomes that justify these expense.
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