Uganda: Ministry Resurrects Inspections As School Standards Plummet

Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa

20 June 2011

Kampala — The Directorate of Education Standards (DESA) has announced a special inspection exercise in secondary schools in central region to ascertain their compliance with the set minimum operational, safety and security standards.

Speaking to journalists in Kampala on Thursday, Ms Frances Atim, the principal inspector, secondary education standards, said the 10-day exercise, which kicks off today (June 20) will cover four districts including; Kampala, Mukono, Wakiso and Buikwe. She said the four districts have the highest concentration of new schools whose registration status and standards are not clear. “We have systematically selected these districts because they have many mushrooming schools whose standards are below the set basic standards and we want them to pull up their socks,” said Ms Atim.

Quality and safety

Ms Atim said the inspectors would not only look at the quality and legality of the schools but also check safety conditions. “We expect them (inspectors) to check the implementation of policies, attendance books of both students and teachers and welfare of teachers,” she said.

This is the second kind of inspection to be carried out in two years. The exercise coincides with the annual national school census which is aimed at ascertaining the actual number of existing schools in the country following reports many ghost schools are profiting from free government education funds.

Recently, the government reviewed the Education Basic Requirements and Minimum Education Standards manual to make it more responsive to emerging issues in the education sector. Unlike the old manual, which emphases 12 key minimum standards indicators, the new one has 13. According to the new manual, all schools with boarding facilities must adhere to new set guidelines including; separating dormitories for each sex and age group, putting two emergency exits in each dormitory, erecting secure fences and installing fire protection systems. Boarding schools are also required to provide dustbins and incinerators as well as erecting appropriate kitchens with utensil drying racks.

Desa is charged with monitoring the quality and standards of education provisions in schools.

According to a report titled ‘Inspection of Primary Schools’ released last year by the Ministry of Education, inconsistent visits by inspectors to schools is one of the leading contributors to the increasingly high failure rates in primary schools because institutions are not regularly assessed on whether they are sticking to the guidelines issued by the ministry.

Ms Atim said they had already given funds to districts to carry out the regular inspection in primary schools across the country.

Last year, the government started sending funds meant for school inspection direct to the district authorities to avoid previous bureaucratic delays. According to the ministry guidelines, schools are supposed to be inspected at least once a term but this is rarely done.

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