In 1997, the Ugandan government introduced Universal Primary Education (the idea that all children should be able to attend primary school for free). And in 2007, after a UN report stated that Africa had the worst secondary school enrollment rates in the world, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni introduced Universal Secondary Education. Though this seemed like progress and enrollment rates did improve, the quality of education in Uganda greatly suffered. 

Though "Universal Education" makes it sound as though attending school would be completely free, the title is misleading. What it actually means, is that the Ugandan government pays schools an annual grant for a chosen amount per student.  That doesn't necessarily mean that amount covers what the schools choose to charge students in tuition.  In many cases, students are still required to pay hefty fees (anywhere from 200,000 - 800,000 shillings per term {$60-$240 USD}),which most families cannot afford.

Even if families can somehow find a way to cover the fees, or they are lucky to find a school which doesn't charge additional, in Uganda it is the student's responsibility to show up each term with specific requirements.  And as most children in Uganda attend boarding schools (for numerous reasons - there being a limited number of schools and students living so far from most, being orphans, the family unable to provide for them at home, etc.), the requirements prove to be quite costly.  They are expected to pay for and bring school uniform, recreational wear, cleaning supplies, their own plates and cups, reams of paper, soap, toilet paper, toothbrushes, etc., and often the total of these items can be too costly for families to afford.  Students are often sent back home if they don't arrive with every single requirement, and are forced to wait until they can return with them or the money.  Many students never return. 

With the rising of enrollment rates, there is a lack of teaching space, supplies, and demotivated, over-worked teachers heading classes, which has resulted in a lesser quality education and large class size, sometimes as large as a 400:1 student to teacher ratio.  A 2010 Overseas Development Institute report acknowledged that although there may be increased access, that education standards have not improved.  So for those who desire a quality education, the only real option is private school.  And for most people, that is simply out of the question, due to the school fees associated with such institutions. 

There are a handful of beautiful private schools in Uganda that offer a superb education. Unfortunately, the children that attend these institutions are the children of Expats and the wealthiest Ugandans.  The everyday Ugandan child only has the option of underfunded, overcrowded, understaffed, poorly equipped and often unsanitary, schools that offer a much lower standard of education.  It is our goal to change this.  To give the everyday Ugandan child the opportunity to go to the kind of school they had only dreamed of. 

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