Child rights organisation High Sound for Children has welcomed concerns raised by the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, over the declining completion rates of boys in Uganda's primary education cycle, calling for urgent, evidence-based action to address emerging gender gaps in education.
High Sound for Children Executive Director, Hadijah Mwanje noted that while increased completion rates among girls reflect years of sustained national and global investment in girls' education, the growing disparity in favour of girls should not be ignored.
Recent data shows that 389,469 boys (47.6%) completed primary education compared to 428,324 girls (52.4%), indicating that more girls than boys are completing the primary cycle. The trend persisted in 2024, with 52.5% of girls completing primary school compared to 47.5% of boys.
Mwanje said the figures raise important questions about whether the imbalance is driven by demographic shifts or by higher dropout rates among boys.
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"As the Minister rightly notes, it is critical to establish whether this trend is demographic in nature or indicative of increasing dropout among boys," Mwanje said.
Drawing on the organisation's experience working with children, schools, and communities, High Sound for Children highlighted a range of vulnerabilities that disproportionately affect boys and may contribute to school disengagement. These include pressure to engage in child labour, early involvement in income-generating activities, negative peer influence, substance abuse, limited male role models in lower primary schools, and social norms that discourage boys from sustained academic participation.
The organisation acknowledged that targeted policies and programming for girls' education over the years have yielded positive and measurable results. However, Mwanje stressed that progress for girls should not come at the expense of boys.
"This progress should not be reversed. Instead, it should inspire a balanced, data-driven approach that ensures no child -- boy or girl -- is left behind," she said.
High Sound for Children has called for a comprehensive response that includes deeper analysis of education data disaggregated by sex, region, and socio-economic status, as well as qualitative research to understand the lived experiences of boys who drop out or are at risk of leaving school.
The organisation also recommended strengthening school-based mentorship and psychosocial support systems, alongside increased community engagement to address harmful social norms and reinforce the value of education for all children.
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Mwanje emphasised that achieving education equity requires the same urgency in addressing emerging gaps as was previously applied to long-standing gender disparities.
High Sound for Children reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Ministry of Education and Sports, schools, development partners, and communities to ensure that every child in Uganda not only enrols in school but completes the primary education cycle with dignity, confidence, and opportunity.
