UN highlights lack of female education

Less than half of all Ugandan girls of primary-school age are enrolled in school, while the drop-out rate at both primary and secondary school level is as high as 98 percent, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The agency used International Women's Day on Tuesday to release a statement calling on leaders in the East African country to advocate for the education of women at all levels.

Despite the existence of free primary-school education in Uganda, just 49 percent of school-age females were in primary school, a ratio described as "too optimistic to reflect the reality", by some educationists quoted in the press release.

"It is important and crucial that every girl in Uganda not only has access to a quality education, but is also enabled to stay in school and complete their education," Martin Mogwanja, UNICEF’s representative in Uganda said.

He added that education enabled young girls to develop their potential, and to contribute effectively to the wellbeing of their households and communities during adulthood.

Statistics from Uganda’s education ministry showed that although 3.9 million boys and 3.8 million girls attended primary school, the transition rate to Primary Seven (the final level of Ugandan primary education) stood at 21 percent for girls, compared with 24 percent for boys.

The figures further indicated that young women had a combined primary and secondary school drop-out rate of 98 percent. UNICEF attributed the failure to attend school to several gender-related issues, including cultural practices and attitudes, poverty, civil strife and HIV/AIDS.

Other factors causing the high drop-out rate, according to the statement, were inappropriate or unfriendly learning environments, denial of school re-entry following pregnancy, and unclear child-labour policies.

UNICEF said it was focused on achieving gender equality in education, and was working closely with the Ministry of Education and other partners to ensure that every girl and boy had access to, and received, a quality education, in accordance with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

Referring to the theme of International Women’s Day this year - "The Role of Women in Wealth Creation at Household Level" - Mogwanja said: "It has been said that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation, and UNICEF believes that women will be more effective in supporting their households if they are healthy."