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Uganda Primary Education
In 1989, the last year for which official figures were
available, the government estimated that more than 2.5
million
youngsters were enrolled in primary schools, of whom about
45
percent were female (see
table 3, Appendix). This figure
represented a four-fold increase from primary enrollment
levels
of the late 1960s and a near doubling of the almost 1.3
million
pupils enrolled in 1980. In that year, just over half of
eligible
six- to twelve-year-olds were attending government-aided
primary
schools, while an additional 80,000 pupils were enrolled
in
private primary schools.
Officials estimated that roughly 61 percent of primary
pupils
completed seventh grade. Of those, about 25 percent went
on to
further study. The central government was responsible for
training, posting, and promoting primary school teachers,
setting
salaries and school fees, providing supplies, inspecting
schools,
and appointing educational committees to deal with local
problems. Local school officials, including the headmaster
or
headmistress, and district education officials were
responsible
for collecting fees, ordering supplies, and administering
the
school according to national policy. The District
Education
Office provided an important intermediary between the
school and
the Ministry of Education.
Data as of December 1990
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