allAfrica.com: Uganda: Science Policy Killing Girls' Hope for University Education (Page 1 of 2)

GROWING up in a poor family in Bushenyi district, Alice Alinda studied hard from primary to secondary to get Government sponsorship at university. However, a few days ago, she realised that her name did not appear on the Government sponsorship list for public universities.

Alinda lost her parents when she was a baby. For all her time in school, she has been working on the family's poultry farm to raise her fees. Now that she has missed Government sponsorship, she says she would rather look for a diploma course which is cheaper and study while paying fees for her siblings instead of going for an expensive course at university.

Alinda is not alone. Hundreds of girls have had their hopes of joining public universities on government sponsorship shattered since the introduction of a policy of funding mainly science courses. The admission list of government-sponsored students at public universities shows a huge gap between boys and girls. This is because 75% of the state scholarships are for science programmes that are not popular with girls.

Of the 3,000 students admitted on merit this year, only 940 are girls. For instance, of the 24 students admitted for Environmental Management, only four are girls. Out of the 15 students admitted for Guidance and Counselling, only five are boys.

Girls are still at a disadvantage, despite the fact that they are awarded the 1.5 points under the affirmative action programme.

For many years, the education of girls has lagged behind in Uganda and in many other developing countries. While female enrollment is almost at par with those of boys at the primary and secondary level, 49% and 44%, respectively, the science policy is likely to worsen the gap at university level.

Therefore, the challenge for the education sector is to duplicate success in lower primary at secondary, tertiary and university levels.

The education ministry's spokesperson, Aggrey Kibenge, agrees there is need to review the affirmative action. "We have realised that few girls get Government scholarships. This is bad for the country's future and something should be done."

Dr. Augustus Nuwagaba, a lecturer and poverty alleviation consultant, advises the Government to put more emphasis on teaching sciences right from primary.

"It is just of recent that the Government made sciences compulsory. Girls are generally weaker at sciences, unlike boys. This calls for early investment in their (girls) future," Nuwagaba says.

According to a special project on scientific, technical and vocational education of girls in Africa conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) , socio-cultural practices are the greatest impediment to women's access to scientific and technological advancement.

"The education of boys is given priority over that of girls because girls might eventually marry and thus transfer their knowledge and income to the families into which they marry," says the report.

However, the transition rate to Senior One for girls is higher than that of their male counterparts.

In 2003, the transition rate for boys was 57%, while that for girls was 63%. In 2004, it rose to 61% for boys and 68% for girls. Of those students who completed O'level in 2004, the transition rate to Senior Five for boys was 43%, while that for girls was 33%.

According to the education ministry, the national literacy rate was estimated at 68% in 2005. Of these 76% were males and 61% females.

Many educationalists argue that: "The obstacles to gender parity are embedded in the cultural norms and practices valued by our patriarchal society." For instance, at the inception of formal education, few girls' schools, especially at secondary level, were established. The high school drop out rate, early marriages among girls and social-cultural prejudices against girls' education have greatly worked against the education sector.

"The girls are more or less like boys. They lack career guidance and counselling which limits their access to educational opportunities. The low educational status of girls limits their ability to compete favourably with men for available opportunities," says Lucy Namakula, a fresh graduate from Makerere University.

Currently, the gender disparity in education are mainly caused by the high dropout rates of girls in upper primary, characterised by low retention and repetition. Thus while countrywide enrolment figures for girls are fairly good in Primary One and Two, (48% for girls and 52% for boys), there is widening gender gap from Primary Four onwards. The completion rate for girls is estimated at 65% while that of boys is 71%.

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