University Magazine Issue 1

VIU.EDU
UGANDA: EARLY
PREGNANCIES
Nancy Kugonza, MBA
in HR
Uganda is a very beautiful East African
country also called the “Pearl of Africa.”
Education for girls has come a long way,
from way back over 40 years ago when
only boys were sent to school leaving the
girls back home to prepare for marriage
at an early age. Girl child education now
has many advocates, especially as a way
to encourage more female graduates at
Makerere University. In Kampala, one of
the biggest universities in the East African
region, each girl is given extra points
to be able to qualify for admission.
In general, Uganda is one of the very
fortunate countries in the world where
girls have equal rights as boys to be in
school and follow their career paths. The
government, alongside many Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs) actively
encourages even more girls to go to
school especially in some communities
(in rural parts of the country) that still
possess the olden day biases of having
only boys go to school.
However, there are also many untold
stories of lack of exposure or access to
the government provisions or the services
availed by NGOs that are helpful
for girls or young women in general.
Despite the availability of some free
early/elementary education, many girls
are not able to attend school because of
early pregnancies and lack of motivation
due to inadequate exposure to success
stories that some of the organizations
offer. Being so far away from the main
cities, and having not so many passionate
representatives for these girls leaves
them hopeless of ever having an education,
and this is where I believe I can fit
into the puzzle. My passion is to get in
touch and work with organizations that
share my dream and belief in the potential
of these less-privileged young girls. I
am a strong believer in the idea educate
a woman, educate a nation because these
girls are future mothers and if they are
educated, they will pass on their knowledge
and influence their children, creating
a better world.
NEPAL: POLITICAL
PROBLEMS
Anila Bindukar, BBA
in Finance
Modern education in Nepal began with
the establishment of the first school in
1853 which was only for the members of
the ruling families. Schooling was provided
to the general public from 1951
after the Rana regime ended. The education
system has progressed a lot; however
it has remained limited to the urban
areas and in rural parts of the country,
girls are deprived of getting any kind of
education. About 57 percent of Nepali
women above age 15 were illiterate as of
2009, according to a Central Bureau of
Statistics report.
The problem exists because the coun-
try’s political problems overshadow other
priorities, including education. Campaigns
are being carried out to get girls
enrolled in school, but beyond it nothing
major has been done to keep them
in school. The major reasons for this are
cultural beliefs, child marriage, the belief
that education for girls is unnecessary,
the school environment, a lack of
awareness and affordability, plus lack of
motivation in parents to promote girls’
education.
TANZANIA: POVERTY
Alex John Luketa, MBA
In the early 90s, there
was a tendency in some families in
Tanzania to prefer to send their sons
to school and leaving their daughters
at home to take care of domestic activities,
since it was believed that only
sons can take care of the family while
girls might end up married. Most girls
were denied the opportunity of attending
schools, while others finished school
before being forced into marriage. Some
even managed to attend university. Now,
there are efforts made to end this myth
which leads more women to continue
their studies.
Tanzania is facing a challenge in education
whereby most of the citizens in rural
areas and some from urban areas are failing
to send their children to school due
to poverty, which leads them to prefer to
use their children to work so as to enable
them to meet their daily basic needs.
Education Around the World
As the world enters a new stage of development, education is
becoming increasingly important around the globe. However,
there are many countries still lagging behind in their literacy
rates and school accessibility for children, especially those in
poor and rural areas. Gender inequality is also still rampant
around the world, with many girls unable to attend school due
to societal demands and cultural norms. As part of the United
Nations’ Millenium Development Goals, two major goals have
been set to equalize access to education internationally. One
of them states that governments should ensure that, by 2015,
children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete
a full course of primary schooling. The other one aims to
eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education,
preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later
than 2015. Much has been accomplished in the last decade to
bring societies worldwide closer to those goals, but should we
actually expect these goals to be accomplished by 2015? We
can only hope that with the combined efforts of governments
and international organizations, there will be better and more
equal access to education across the globe.
Spring 2014 University Magazine, VIU
27