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Uganda: Child Labour Frustrating Education in Yumbe
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The Monitor (Kampala)
15 October 2007
Posted to the web 15 October 2007
Kefa Atibuni
Yumbe
Looking at other children going to school, 12- year Rashid Asiku could not hold back his tears as his father shouted at him to go and weed the cassava field. Asiku slowly walked back into the room, changed from his school uniform, picked up a hoe and headed to the garden.
The young boy might have felt worthless and hollow as he watched playmates go to school, but Asiku is not alone. Child labour has been identified as the worst cause of high school drop outs in Yumbe District.
Children not only provide labour in their homes but also get employed by other families.
Early this month the District Chairperson, Al-haji Rashid Govule Iyiga, instructed his guards to arrest Mr Geoffrey Ayimani a site foreman and three pupils he had employed to level murram on a community access road in Drajini Sub-County.
"This is criminal. We want our children to go to school and some people are here abusing the government programme of UPE. We can not allow this," Mr Govule said.
The pupils identified as; Stephen Andruga,14, in Primary four at Yiba Primary School; Lemeriga Twaha,16, in Primary six and Draga Mudasiri,12, of Primary four at Lodonga Black Primary School were driven to Lodonga Police Post.
Mr Ayiman maintained that the children had been sent by their parents. But Mr Govule said the police would sermon the parents to explain why their children were not in school that day. The boys claimed they were earning Shs3,000 daily and that they give the money to their parents.
Child labour is the employment of children under the age of 18. The LC3 Chairperson for Drajini Sub-sounty, Mr Linus Kayie said his council would soon pass a by-law on compulsory school enrollment. "This by-law was passed by the previous council and we think there are some parts that need to be amended," he said.
But in other sub-counties such as Apo, the authorities have been mounting operations to arrest children who do not go to school. Their parents are fined Shs10,000. The Education Officer in charge of administration, Mr Jamal Abdi, says about half of the pupils in primary schools drop out.
He says inspection reports indicate that out of 5,574 pupils who were in Primary six last year only 2,778 registered for Primary Leaving Examinations this year.
Who is to blame?
"Parents do not encourage their children to stay in school. If all the stakeholders played their part we would go along way in addressing the issue of quality education ...certainly our challenge remains improving the quality of education," Mr Jamal says.
He says although early marriages pose a challenge to education in the district, child labour tops the list. "It is worse during planting and harvest seasons. Children are sent to work in the fields. Sometimes they go to chase away vermin and eventually, they are retained at home," Mr Jamal says.
He said some parent say they are successful despite not having attended school.
Despite limited resources, Mr Jamal says his department started sensitising residents on the value of education and training of school management committees.
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"By training these stakeholders we feel we are empowering them to perform their roles effectively and ensure that schools are managed in line with the government policy," he said.
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