DanChurchAid
Uganda
88% in Karamoja illiterate
By David Mafabi, MOROTO
This means that only 12 percent of the people in Moroto, Kotido, Nakapiripiriti, Abim and Kabong districts in are able to read and write.
This is despite the existence of the Universal Primary Education [UPE], Functional Adult Literacy lessons provided under the community development programme and recently Universal Secondary Education [USE] in the region.
Abul said that whereas it is true that sensitization has taken place and some people are beginning to value education, the crude traditional practices and cultures that encourage children to stay at home to look after animals [for the boys and prepare for marriage [girls] have kept region’s literacy levels so low.
“Despite the existence of government’s Universal Primary Education and Functional Adult Literacy lessons at all levels in Karamoja region, our research as education department reveals that 88% of the population in Karamoja cannot read and write,” said Abul.
He was 11 July speaking to the press about the literacy levels in the region since the introduction of the UPE, FAL lessons and Alterative Basic Education for Karamoja [ABEK] as his office.
Abul revealed that although there are clear indicators that literacy levels have improved from formerly 5.3% in 1986 to 12% in 2007, the region still has parishes without schools and sub-counties where people have never gone to school.
He revealed Gogos, a parish and village for former minister David Pulkol, Tepeth both in Moroto and Kadam in Nakapiripiriti as the areas with highest levels of illiteracy in the region.
The programme manager, Karamoja Agro-pastoral programme, Mr. Michael Kuskus who is directly involved in the sensitization and mobilization of Karamoja communities for education said the high illiteracy levels have hindered development in the region.
Kuskus revealed that besides the tradition, long spells of drought, insecurity and general attitude towards education have negatively affected the numbers at school.
He revealed that the illiteracy levels were likely to remain at 88% unless government besides forceful education for all in Karamoja made all schools boarding and provided food for the children.
Kuskus through KADP is urging parents to take children to school and to engage in production at all levels in order to empower themselves economically to fight poverty at households but also be able to sustain children at school.
When Daily Monitor visited Tapac primary school in Tepeth parish in Katikikile sub-county at the border with Kenya which started as far back as 1984 and only 66 children were in school despite having an enrollment of 700 children.
The headmaster, Mr. Michael Ebanyu said it was difficult to convince parents to allow their children to go to school as they want them at home for grazing animals and preparing them for marriage to fetch cows.
Ebanyu revealed that parents in Karamoja believe that when a girl remains at home, she fetches high bride price while the one who goes to school fetches less because she is treated as a prostitute.
Daily Monitor was able to get in touch with the highest educated person in the region, Mr. Sisto Dodoth, a senior three drop out who is the chairman of almost everything in the village, health, education, sanitation, PTA.
Dodoth told Daily Monitor that whereas a few parents have shown interest recently in sending their children to school, they see no future for the children after P.7 because there is no secondary school in the region the nearest being Moroto high which is 53km away.
He revealed that although Tapac is the only P7 School in the parish with a total of 13711 people only 7 children are in P7, no UPE funds have been given to the school since November last year and no inspector of schools has visited it.
Information accessed by Daily Monitor indicates that whereas there are schools in the region to address illiteracy levels, the education department leadership hardly visits them to assess the progress because of poor road network and insecurity.
Failure the education department to visit the schools to asses progress and encourage parents to take children to school has also seen many parents fail to take children to school because they do not see the value for education.
DanChurchaid and the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission are funding a drought preparedness program in the districts of Moroto and Nakapiripirit, which is helping the Karimojongs in developing their traditional way of living as agro-pastoralists. DanChurchAid has invited two journalists from the leading Ugandan newspapers, The Daily Monitor and The New Vision, to see the work of the local partner KADP.
DanChurchAid has a Framework Partnership Agreement with ECHO enabling DanChurchAid to implement ECHO funded projects worldwide in a broad range of sectors including water and sanitation, food aid, shelter, non-food item to humanitarian mine action. Visit website: ECHO
