Education Sector Strategic Plan 2004-2015 - Planipolis

Final ESSP
primary, and tertiary, of the system. Indicators of progress on this objective include
enrolment rates and transition rates by gender, income quintile, geographic region,
and rural/urban location (see Annex 3).
2.2.1.1 Universal participation in a flexible basic education system
The Plan supports the continuation of Universal Primary Education (UPE), so that
all Ugandan children attend primary school without paying fees. This will entail
expansion of the basic education system, including complementary programs for
disadvantaged children and youth: those in poor, dispersed, and/or remote
communities and in conflict areas, as well as individual children with physical
disabilities.
2.2.1.2 Increased and equitable participation in a coherent and flexible post-primary
system
As currently structured, the post-primary system cannot accommodate all the P7
completers who wish to continue their education. The Plan calls for restructuring the
post-primary system to give more participants competencies for the workforce and
further education. It anticipates that the transition rate from P7 to S1 will increase
from the current 45% to 80%. This increase will be gradual, and it will take into
account the larger cohorts of the “UPE bulge,” the first of which enters S1 in 2005.
About 50% of those who complete S4 are expected to make the transition to S5;
much of the remaining 50% will enter the labour market and enrol in BTVET
courses.
2.2.1.3 Expanded and equitable participation in a coordinated, flexible, and diversified
tertiary system
The newly formed National Council of Higher Education and the Ministry are in the
final stages of developing a strategic plan that will help institutions accommodate
more students by expanding and rehabilitating facilities and by making the system
more flexible.
2.2.2 Objective 2: Students achieving education goals
It is not enough that children enrol in school. Uganda needs citizens who can
actively participate in their democracy, families that care for the health and welfare
of their members and communities, and a workforce comprised of competent
professionals, technicians, and labourers who can modernize the economy in the
context of globalization.
The first cohort entering school under the Universal Primary Education (UPE)
policy has now completed the primary level. But the high rates of attrition at each
grade level mean that only a small percentage of those who entered have
8