Programmes > Regions > Africa

Kenya
Uganda

Kenya

As a result of our encouragement (and financial support) the Kenyan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, with approval of the Kenyan Auditor General, has agreed to join forces with a commercial auditing company to introduce and implement the audit of primary school finances for the first time in Kenya's history.

Hitherto, auditing was a strictly government affair. It is a significant development as it represents an important shift to allowing greater public scrutiny of education financing and management for the first time. The contract will allow for Government of Kenya capacity building at both central and local government and school levels.

Uganda

In Uganda opening up of the school publishing and textbook market has led to a 30% reduction in the overall cost of school textbooks.

Aid is a large part of the Government of Uganda's budget, almost 55% of the Government's expenditures are funded from external aid transfers. These transfers are increasingly in the form of budget support.

The Government of Uganda is allocating these resources wisely, giving the highest priority to Education that received 26.3% of the total budget outturn in 1999/2000 and 24.9% in 2000/01. Within the Education Sector, Primary Education has consistently received over 69% of the Education budget over the past five years.

These high levels of expenditure on primary education have enabled the Government of Uganda to consolidate and improve its Universal Primary Education Policy, launched in 1997. The UPE initiative abolished the system of PTA fees (except for urban schools) as well as tuition fees for four children per family (in 2002 this policy has been amended to include all children). It has also increased and improved the flow of public funds to schools. This has led to a massive increase in primary enrolments and increased education budgets at all levels of the system.

The impact of the government's UPE policy has been considerable and the latest Poverty Status Report indicates that in addition to the massive increase in enrollment the policy has:

(i) eliminated the wealth bias that had characterised access to primary education in 1992;

(ii) helped to establish gender equality by increasing girls' access to primary education; and

(iii) reduced the incidence of cost-related drop-outs from primary schools.

In 2001 Uganda had an estimated 7,343,207 children enrolled in primary schools (both Government and private). It is likely that at least 87% of primary school-age children are attending school in the country (without accurate population data it is not possible to calculate a definitive net enrolment rate). The Government has achieved considerable progress in reducing pupil:teacher ratios (59:1 in 2001 and expected to reduce to 54:1 this year); pupil:classroom ratios (98:1 in 2001 and expected to reduce to 92:1 in 2002); and, following the successful introduction of instructional materials procurement reforms in 2001, there is every possibility that the Government may achieve a pupil:textbook ratio of one to one by 2004.

With regard to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):

1. Pimary school net enrolment is increasing from a baseline established in 2000 of 110% (based on faulty population data) to approaching 100% on the basis of data available in 2003 (a new population census is planned for mid 2002). [MDG2]

2. There is massive improvement in gender equality in education, measured by an increase in the ratio of girls to boys enrolled in i) primary and ii) secondary education from a baseline established in 2000 of i) 93% to approaching 100% ii) 79% to approaching 100% on the basis of data available in 2003. [MDG 3]