Regional Conference on Globalization, Regionalization and Privatization in and of Education in Africa

Research Paper
Title: Privatization and Parental Choices in Primary and Secondary Education: Innovation Challenges and cross
boarder education in East Africa
Authors: Ashabrick Nantege, Olivia Mugabirwe & Batilda Evarist Moshy
Abstract
Rapidly increasing demand for education exceeds the capacity of many countries to supply it domestically.
Increasingly, many students have moved across boarders to obtain education at any level and today they continue to
do so in increasing numbers. Without reliable data and information, the formulation of appropriate policies to
enhance the education of students becomes very difficult. One of the reasons why there are few empirical studies
about privatisation is that most of the experience with privatisation elsewhere especially in developing countries is
that it affects a small and homogeneous percentage of the population. All independent governments are making
efforts, striving to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015 and therefore privatisation issues are
more relevant in large scale experiments. This is a major reason why Ugandas experiences was particularly
illustrative, to provide a particularly interesting test bed for these questions. The project was supported by
PERIGLOBAL and applied descriptive techniques integrated with multiple regression techniques to (i) describe
patterns of school establishment and levels of satisfaction or perception of schooling by parents; (ii) account for
mobility of Tanzanian students into Ugandan school system. (iii) Synthesize the implications of privatization and cross
boarder education to socio-economic development of the East African Region. The analysis employed in the project is
potentially replicable, with appropriate testing and adaptation in other developing countries. It is revealed herein that
formal education was first in the hands of religious bodies, at independence government took up ownership of all
schools but later gave in to the wave of privatisation and allowed groups and sole proprietors to establish schools
and supplement government efforts to provide education. From 1980s on wards, there is no evidence of government
constructed neither primary nor secondary school. It is the private sector that has been most active in school
construction to date. Apparently, over 90% of the schools in Kampala city are private founded schools. Cross boarder
education is traced way back in the colonial times when Makerere college was the only institution of higher learning
for the entire East Africa and has continued to take route as the East African community puts emphasis on joint
human resource development and calls for private sector participation. There is no single factor that explains cross
border education but a combination of historical, social, political and economic factors. Cross-boarder education has
the potential to consolidate regional achievements and strengthen progress towards economic integration but there is
need to streamline education provision by establishing a body to regulate provision, guide foreign students/parents on
the school choice/selection and a clear policy/follow up on school fees regulations by the ministry of education and
sports (Uganda).

Introduction
After decades of restricting private primary and secondary education, excessive demand overwhelmed most
national governments in developing countries such as Uganda to embark on new policies including
privatisation of education, liberalization and regulation in the mid-1980s aimed at supporting education
expansion. Consequences of such policies included rapid response from the non-government/private sector
who established schools to provide for or cater for the high education demand and raise transition rates to
secondary education (Lassibille et al. 1999). For their part, governments promised to provide an enabling
environment through legislation and develop a framework to provide, supervise, regulate, guide and
incentivize education provision (Oketch and Rollesto, 2007). This state of affairs led to massive rise of
private schools in Uganda that have since dominated the primary and secondary education scene. At the
same time Ugandas implementation of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997 opened way for private
schools since it led to increased enrolment of pupils at primary school level that could not be accommodated
in the existing public schools that were overcrowded, understaffed and poorly equipped. Latest statistics
from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in Uganda showed that in the entire country; private
schools make up 37% and 9%; primary and secondary respectively (Government of Uganda, 2010). Records
over the resent years indicate that Ugandas education attracts students from both within and outside the
country, mainly from the neighbouring Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Somalia, Burundi and Southern Sudan. It
was thus in the interest of this study to:
1. To describe general patterns of school establishment and levels of satisfaction or perception of
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schooling by parents.
2. To account for the mobility of Tanzanian students into the Ugandan school system.
Which category of schools do they go to?
Are their terms of schooling different to those of Uganda students?
3. To synthesize the implications of privatization and cross boarder education to socio-economic
development of the East African region.
The study provides baseline data for future monitoring of education service provision in East Africa and
suggests best practices and recommendations to policy makers and actors in the education sector for further
engagement and programs towards sustainable education systems.

Description of the Case Study Approach

The study was carried out in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda based on the premise that it is in this area
that one can find a diversity of schools; wealth groups, the ultra poor and majority of foreign students. The
assessment methodology focused on a combination of qualitative data collected and existing quantitative.
An examination of education documents such as brochures and reports derived from the bodies responsible
for education services in the country was done. This included National Service Delivery Survey data, and
data from Project Atlas and African Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE), The InterUniversity Council of East Africa, National Curriculum Development Centre, UWEZO Uganda National
Examinations Board, and the Ministry responsible for Education and Sports.
Sampling
A list of schools for Uganda for (2010) was obtained from the Ministry of Education and Sports (Uganda)
from which existing schools in Kampala City were extracted. From the national schools list, the list of schools
in Kampala City included 954 primary schools and 304 secondary schools. This gave a percapita figure of
1675 and 5256 for primary schools and secondary schools respectively. 675 (523 primary and 152
secondary schools) whose ownership was not reported were dropped from the population, from which the
sample was derived. This left a population of 431 primary schools and 152 secondary schools. Using
appropriate sampling techniques, from the total population of 583 schools, we then arrived at a sample size
of 232 schools. 232 schools was such big number in relation to the timeframe and resources available for the
project. As a rule of thumb, the larger the population, the smaller the sampling ration required to achieve
the same degree of accuracy (Vuuren and Maree, 2002). Therefore, a decision was made to take 20% of
the 152 secondary schools (30 schools) and 10% of primary schools (44 schools). The selected schools were
categorised into groups that were defined by administrative/electoral divisions (i.e., Kawempe, Nakawa,
Rubaga, Central and Makindye). In each of these electoral divisions (constituencies), at least one primary and
a secondary school were selected. In each school, one headteacher and four (4) parents were selected. The
selection of the schools was guided by: (a) existence of foreign student population in the school; (b) school
ownership and (c) physical state.
Data collection and analysis
150 questionnaires were administered for secondary schools (30 for headteachers and 120 for parents) while
220 questionnaires were administered for primary schools (44 for headteachers and 176 for parents). 10 indepth interviews were carried out with parents of foreign students and 5 with Ugandan parents. A number
of documents were reviewed for data and information related to the concerns of this project. Most of these
documents related to provision of education in the East African context. Use was also made of the data
UWEZO East African survey, Ministry of Education and Sports Statistical Abstract for 2008 and 2009.
The data was entered into the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and factor analysis was used to
create composite variables to reduce the large number of variables into a smaller set of uncorrelated
composite variables (principal components). The linear combinations formed sequentially explain as much of
the variability in the initial variables as possible. Factor analysis together with regressions analysis was used to
explain the process of cross boarder education and parental choices for primary and secondary schools in
Uganda. The logic of the regression analysis was to estimate coefficients of determination (r2) and
significance levels of regression coefficients to explore motivational factors and how they explain parents
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choices of specific schools for their children. Qualitative data transcribed and studied provided the narratives.

Main Results
Patterns of school establishment
Formal education in the country was championed by religious bodies- missionaries and thus by then
education was denominational. At independence, the government of Uganda took over ownership of all
schools and later with the restructuring recommended by the 1987 Education Policy Review Commission,
groups and sole proprietors took an active role in school establishment and provision of education. It is
apparent that private schools are as old as formal education system in the country. Government/public
schools were last constructed in the 1960s and 1980s respectively; a period when education was an exclusive
domain of the public sector. It is however important to note that by that time according to Lahmeyer
(2006), the countrys total population stood at 6.62 million people. Current data from the Uganda Bureau
of Statistics indicate that the countrys national population stands at about 33 million people of whom 50%
are young. By implications, there is excess demand for education than public schools can provide. The
private sector and the community bridge the gap by aggressively constructing schools at both levels to meet
the excessive demand though one would still question their intervention motive and effectiveness. Evidence
from selected schools (figure 1 below) is suggestive of a boom of private sector involvement in the 1990s at
both levels.

Figure 1 Primary (left) and secondary (right) school establishment in Kampala City.

As competition for students tightened coupled with intensified supervision by the MoES aimed at enforcing
policy, many of the sub standard schools have phased out and replaced by schools with impressive buildings.
A good number of most impressive schools1 are owned by foreign investors for example, Kampala Parents
and Kampala International School are owned by a very rich and prominent business personality of Asian
origin and mainly serving the rich class of citizens.
Public private partnership in Education
Owing to a number of pressing issues and the fact that government has no money to meet all, public private
partnership in education is encouraged as one approach to meeting the ever increasing demand for
education (Bitamazire, 2005). Figure 2 below shows education funding options in Uganda for a period 2004
2015.

Though not all, many of the impressive schools follow under the category of first world schools which are given the
status based on historical excellent record of performance.
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Figure 2 Analysis of funding options (billion Uganda shillings) 2004 2015

Source: Data from the Ministry of Education and Sports (2004)

The government entered into partnership with the private sector and signed contracts to outline the
respective responsibilities of the public and private sectors in the provision of primary and secondary
education (Government of Uganda, 2004). This partnership involves exploring innovative ways of
advancing implementation of the education policy, Universal Primary Education Programme and the
Universal Secondary Education programme introduced in 2007. Amidst the dilemma of limited public
schools, government through the Ministry of Education and Sports pays selected private schools an agreed
amount as school fees for education of students that qualify and are not served by public/ governmentaided. In turn private schools are mandated to provide authorities with performance data on a range of
agreed indicators, to submit progress reports, and to be subject to periodic reviews and assessments of
academic performance (LaRocque, 2008). Under the USE arrangements, by 2008 the government of Uganda
was subsidizing 430 private secondary schools (countrywide) serving approximately 56,000 students
(Government of Uganda, 2010). The Ministry of Education selects the participating schools and a
memorandum of understanding is signed with individual private schools to ensure that they comply with the
policys implementation guidelines (Patrinos et al., 2009). The increase in total number of licensed private
secondary schools is attributed to public private partnership.
School choice and ultimate investment in education
One of the factors is the school standard. Sometimes the closest school is considered to have a lower
standard as evidenced by the poor quality of teachers and condition of the school/general appearance. If a
parent intends to educate his/her child to university level and offers a course of his/her choice, then he/she
will need to take the child to a school with a higher standard in order to be able to excel in all the
necessary exams even if this chosen school is located miles away.
Examination performance track record of a school is another determining factor for parents choice of school
and ultimate satisfaction. A school that has had the biggest percentage of its candidates (primary seven or
secondary school leavers) pass the national examinations with distinctions/ excellent grades and appears among
the top performing schools in the press would automatically be assured of a very high pupil/student turn up the
following academic year remark from one of the teachers. For some however, it is the social status of parents
that dictates the school choice. Some parents prefer to take their children to schools matching their social
status. Even if a school in the neighborhood performs well academically, as long as it does not match the
social standards of the parent in terms of school facilities, a parent would disregard it and instead takes
his/her child to a preferred school 30 kilometers away and sometimes this implies the parent dropping and
picking the child on a daily basis. One of the parents noted that; This school is indeed far away from my
home but I am satisfied and not complaining because it is a school worth for my child. They give him good
breakfast, lunch and evening tea from school, they have a range of co-curricular activities (rugby, swimming and
hockey) which I cannot find in the schools in my home area.
Parents investment in education is strongly tied to the high hopes they have in their children after education.
To many parents in Tanzania, Uganda and the rest of East Africa, schooling is a ticket out of poverty
(Maurtvedt, 2006). However, due to various shortfalls in the education sector in the region, particularly in
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public primary and secondary school level; such as shortages of teachers, overcrowding, poor sanitation as
well as poor learning environment (Verspoor & Bregman (2007); parents mainly middle class and wealthier
are increasingly taking their children to private schools where they believe they would get better services and
excellent academic performance (UWEZO, 2010). In fact, Uganda has the highest number of foreign students
and primary and secondary level as well as private school enrolment among the three East African countries
(UWEZO, 2011). Some parents solicit for school fees in all ways possible so as to educate children whom
they expect to save their families from the biting poverty. Parents go an extra mile and contain assaults and
abuses from friends and relatives to have their children in schools by selling family land and even take loans
from banks to pay school fees.
Factor analysis revealed that the five dimensions in the evaluation space that determine parents motivation to
send a child to a particular school include: (1) school foundation is good with well qualified and experienced
teaching staff and management; (2) curriculum tailored to the needs of the child; (3) reasonable class sizes;
(4) medium of instruction liked; and (5) school related costs are low and manageable. The purpose of the
factors obtained through factor analysis was to explain and predict the parent choice of the childs school. To
validate the factors, we tested the association between factor scores and the choice of schools as reported by
the parents. We constructed a simple multiple regression model to test this association using a linear square
estimation of the parameters. The final model wasnt significant. The R-square value showed that 8% of the
variation in a child studying in a particular school was explained by all the five independent variables. The
results also showed that all the factors were found statistically insignificant in affecting choice of the school
i.e., school foundation ( = -0.044, p > 0.05); curriculum ( = -0.084, p > 0.05); class size ( = -0.130, p
> 0.05); medium of instruction ( = 0.068, p > 0.05), and school related costs ( = -0.234, p > 0.05).
These results from the regression analysis point to other factors that explain and predict the parents choice
of childs school.

Levels of satisfaction
Level of satisfaction varies from parent to parent. By and large, 73% of parents showed dissatisfaction with
the education services their children are receiving. The main reason fronted was the unfriendly teaching and
learning environment i.e., most schools (both private and public) are overcrowded. In some boarding
schools even those one would consider middle class, students are living on top of each others heads, so to
speak; three-level beds; overfilled toilets and inadequate food. The proprietors are simply interested in
numbers: the more students, the bigger the profits. So discipline and moral standards are ignored. In the
absence of a good educational environment that fosters self-discipline, students tend to indulge in drug
taking, alcohol, sex and other destructive activities; not benefiting much from education. Byamugisha (2010)
and Kasirye (2009) clearly illustrated that school environmental factors influence reading and school
achievement among primary school pupils. For the school context factors, pupil having lunch at school, the
type and location of the school, school resources and headteachers qualification and administrative and
management styles are important factors in the prediction of pupils educational achievement (Byamugisha,
2010). Parents have the picture of the dream schools that would give their children the best desired
education but, 69% have not been able to have the children enrol in those schools. Among the reasons
given are; those schools are expensive, the childrens pre-entry grades were poor to fit in the dream school,
school is very competitive or the distance to school is long.

Mobility of students into Ugandan school system: Cross boarder education

In Primary schools Sudanese pupils formed 3.4% of the foreign students population in the selected survey
schools. This is followed by others (1.4%) who speculatively include children of expatriate staff coming from
Europe and other countries outside the East and Central African region. Rwandese (1.3%), Kenyans (1.1%)
and Tanzanians (0.4%) trail with the least student population in the selected primary schools. At secondary
school level, Tanzanians form the majority of foreign students closely followed by Kenyans. Although
neighbouring countries have also introduced free primary school education, the attraction for Ugandan
education has not decreased. Chediel et al. (2000) indicate that the past prohibition of private education
and limited access to secondary education in Tanzania created a market in Kenya and Uganda for Tanzania
children. During a UPE review in 2000, it was established that there was an average of 20% of foreign
students in Busia, Malaba, Tororo and Mbale. It was also established that on the Rwandese boarder, pupils
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crossed every morning and studied in Ugandan primary schools.

Figure 3: Disaggregation of the foreign student population by nationality in the selected study primary

(left) and secondary schools (right)

Tororo Progressive Academy, one of the largest private schools in Tororo district and perhaps the boarder
areas has almost 60% of its population from Kenya. On average 20% of the pupils/students in several
schools in the boarder districts of Busia, Malaba, Tororo, Mbale, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kisoro and Kabale are
actually foreign nationals (Talemwa, 2010). One can argue that the huge numbers of foreign students in the
boarder areas is a question of proximity to the students home countries. We can only speculate further
about the drivers of this type of cross boarder mobility. Several reasons can be put forward to explain the
patterns of mobility of students to Uganda. Key politicians and in fact Presidents in their individual countries;
like Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Tanzanias Benjamin Mkapa studied in
Uganda (Makerere University alumni). These personalities have become prominent in their respective
countries and they therefore became precursors to hundreds of thousands of students from their countries
seeking what was then seen as an elite education in Uganda. That started a move that has made Uganda the
largest recipient of East African students and this is not restricted to tertiary level of education. With their
studies in Uganda, there developed a strong desire for many people in the East and Central African region to
value an education obtained in Uganda. In line many Tanzanian and prominent Kenyan secondary schools,
like Starehe Boys, State House Girls, St. Marys Thika, and Alliance High, have highly taken on Ugandan
teachers as their staff, since they are seen as very good teaching and learning facilitators regionally (Talemwa,
2010 and Abwol, 2007).
Change of education system from seven years of primary schooling, 6 years of secondary before proceeding
to the University to 8 years of primary and 4 years of secondary then one would proceed to university. Was
not welcomed by some Kenyan parents who had gone through the former education system which they
believe is far much better. Such parents opt to take their children to Uganda for education instead since
Uganda has not changed her education system. For parents from countries like Somalia and Sudan; their
children are studying in Uganda because of the political insurgency that has affected their countries for quite
a long time. These children came to Uganda with their parents as refugees.
In Tanzania, Kiswahili is the official language of instruction in primary schools and English in secondary
schools. However, the Secondary Education Master Plan of Tanzania (2001-2005) indicated that teachers
have limited confidence in English; thus they repeatedly code switch between Kiswahili and English in the
classroom. As a result, students finish secondary schools without adequate ability to write and communicate
in English effectively and efficiently. The master plan further points out that Tanzania cannot afford being
illiterate in English while surrounded by countries which speak English, fluently and hope to remain an active
and effective member of key and strategic economic blocks that use English, including SADC and the
Commonwealth (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2000). These factors have created a quest to learn
englinsh by many Tanzanians. Many parents take their children outside their country for better education.
They are attracted to Ugandan education partly because of the use of English a medium of instruction from
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primary school to University. Katabaro (2010) refers to this quest by Tanzanian learners and their parents as
the search for English.
Another factor noted was peer pressure. For some Tanzanian parents, it is more of a trend currently in
Tanzania and parents influence each other to have their children study in Uganda. Two Tanzanian parents
that had come to visit their children studying in Uganda indicated that When parents find out that other
parents are sending their children to Uganda and other countries (and in fact better schools with English medium
of instruction], they get worried and do everything possible to send theirs too. In fact, some parents derive certain
forms of prestige from having their children study in Uganda and other countries (A Tanzanian student in
Uganda). However, it is only those who have some reasonable income that are able to do so. Parents make
important choices regarding the education of their children. These two Tanzanian parents revealed two
important reasons for their choice of Uganda as the destination for their children to have an education; that
is English as medium of instruction and the relatively fair school fees charged per term compared to
Tanzania. Even though there is a growing number English medium primary and secondary schools in Tanzania, it
is far much cheaper for parents to send their children to Uganda.
The other most important reason mainly applies to working parents. The interviews revealed that there are
very few boarding schools in Tanzania where children can remain in school for a whole term and give time
for the parents to engage in other activities. Since Uganda has a bigger number of boarding schools and
relatively lower cost of living in the region, there is every incentive for parents to send their children to
boarding schools in Uganda (Abwol, 2007). What one Tanzania parent explained to us was that it was
cheaper to send a child to a boarding school in Uganda than to organise daily transportation to and from
school. Even in Kampala, there is no organised school bus system (except for individual schools putting
together their own bus system) and the regular dala dalas [minibuses] in Dar es Salaam for example, are just
too risky for children to use on their own - especially for teenage girls. At the same time, parents don't have
the time to drive their children to school and pick them up everyday - even short journeys in traffic-clogged
Dar es Salaam can take several hours. Boarding school is necessary since Tanzanian children have nowhere to
live in Uganda.
The perception of a high quality and affordable education received in Uganda is an emphasized explanation
for the huge numbers of students crossing into Uganda. In the past, there has been talk of Uganda having the
best quality education due to the high number of Kenyan and Tanzania students in Uganda education
institutions. There has been high mobility of East African students to Ugandan schools even before the
opening of boarders under the Common Market reports and the numbers have been increasing by almost
50% every passing year (Bwire, 2010 and 2010b). According to the National Council of Higher Education
(2009), the number of foreign students surged from 2,947 or 2.7% in 2004, to around 7,735 or 7.7% by
2005. The number rose to around 10% or close to 9,000 foreign students in the 2005/2006 intake. In 2007
they were 28,000 international students in Ugandan secondary schools, a number that has risen to 40,000
foreign students studying in secondary schools across the country (Bwire, 2010 and Abwol, 2007).To the
parents that were interviewed, the basic message that came through is that the education provided in
Uganda is very relevant to the future and long term career goals that they expect of their children.
Terms of schooling
The government gives a reprieve to foreign students to pay the same school fees as their local counterparts
(Ugandans). However there is no policy guiding school fees payment in private schools. Government aided
schools are requested to seek for approval from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) before raising
the school fees and offer a justification for the rise. Although government expects private schools to be
considerate to the parents and guardians of students while levying school fees, limited amounts of
information is collected on the fees charged by schools, the programs that they offer and their staff
qualifications (Patrinos, et al. 2009). The trend in private schools is that some charge exorbitant fees to both
national and foreign students. The general argument according to one headteacher interviewed is that they
do not get any subsidies from the government and they have to meet the ever increasing costs of paying
teachers, feeding students and purchasing teaching and learning materials. In some private schools foreign
students pay slightly much more than the national students and pay in dollars. For example in one of the
schools visited foreign students pay a fixed fee of 300 $ per term while national students pay four hundred
and fifty thousand Uganda shillings (450,000/=) equivalent to 187.5$. Data showed that in government
7

aided schools, students pay a uniform fee levied by the specific school regardless of their nationality. At one
of the primary schools in our study coverage fees are paid in dollars and each term a pupil pays about 5,000
US dollars regardless of their nationality. The amount paid in this primary school is extremely higher than
what is paid annually for some university courses such as Bachelor of Arts with Education and Bachelor of
Commerce (a gross of about 1,050,000/- per semester and a year has two semesters).
An important aspect of fees is where and how they are determined, collected and held. In Uganda there are
a number of items that are included in school fees package and this vary from school to school thus bringing
a divergence in the final fee levied. For example some schools levy textbook fees, PTA and community
contributions, activity fees and uniforms fees on top of the mainstream school fees. All these fees are
collected at school level and used by the school unlike in China and Egypt where fees are collected at the
school but not used by the school (Bentaouet & Burnett, 2004). The school fees issue raises very hot debate
even in Ugandan situation; parents with children in private schools have claimed that not only the fees in
some schools are high but these schools keep on asking for a lot of money for different activities such as
study trips and co-curricular activities throughout the term, making full use of absence of any fee structure
regulatory body. The government has not put in place a regulatory frame work for private primary and
secondary and thus, most private schools turn into money making businesses, charging extra and exorbitant
fees. Once an individual is done with the hurdles of school registration, there is nothing that would hinder him
or her from minting money from the desperate public (Director of one prominent private school). There are
no strict follow-ups from the district or division education officials or inspectors and officials from the
ministry of education to find out as to whether the school proprietors are adhering to the basic standards.
This lack of follow-up and apathy by government has left the public to be exploited by private school
proprietors (Bwire, 2010b).

Development implications

Efforts to revive regional economic co-operation from 1999 coupled with privatization have entailed serious
efforts at regional approaches to education and training. There is no doubt that there is a high level of
interaction among the East African states when it comes to education at all levels. This has had significant
implications on the international cooperation, socio economic field, cultural and has promoted political
alliance among the East African countries.
Cross boarder education
Economically, cross boarder education contributes to increased revenue for Uganda. The government,
schools and other service providers such as transport companies earn from the influx of foreign students.
There is an export value in a countrys balance of payments from accommodation, living, travel expenses.
Data on the economic contribution of cross boarder education to the socio-economic development of East
Africa is rather speculative but Ongonga (2008) indicated that Uganda benefits more from the income
generated as a result of cross boarder education. Indeed as a recognized industry, education is now freely
traded in East Africa. Although this survey shows that Tanzanian students are the largest majority at
secondary school level, Abwol (2007) indicated that Kenya is the leading source of international students in
Uganda, contributing over 60% at the secondary level. Tanzania follows with 16% and 12% respectively.
Others are Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan. With this turn up, Uganda, earned $32m (sh51b) from
foreign students in the 2004/05 financial year, according to statistics from the Uganda Revenue Authority
making education the fourth-largest foreign exchange earner (Maseruka, 2010 & Ogachi, 2009). On other
hand, by some estimates, Tanzania parents in total paid 18 billion shillings (1US$=800 Tshs) per annum for
their children in secondary boarding schools in Kenya and Uganda (Chediel, 2000).
Tanzanians students in particular are offered an opportunity to master English while studying in Uganda.
Since Tanzanian public primary schools use Kiswahili as a medium of instruction, most parents interviewed
highlighted the desire to have their children study in Uganda to learn English which is more of a global
language. They believe that a good command of English language will offer greater opportunities to their
children. Much as some of the parents take this position, it is imperative to note that prioritizing learning
English poses a danger to mastery and development of Kiswahili which has for long been a uniting factor for
the case of Tanzania. Brock-Utne and Garbo (2009), Brock-Utne (2002) and Prah (2000) argue that no
nation can develop using a borrowed language and have always admired and given Tanzania example as
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one of the few and unique African countries that has promoted teaching and learning using a language
spoken by the majority of its nationals.
The majority of the foreign students studying in Uganda are enrolled in schools offering the local/national
curriculum; designed to suit the needs of Uganda as a country. On this note, questions about the relevance
of Ugandan curricular to the Tanzanian and Kenyan context may arise keeping in mind that the local
curriculum has been criticized severally by the media and scholars such as Nantege (2007) for not being
relevant to Ugandas development needs. Being in the same region with similar endowment and above all
having had similar colonial history might be one factor that enables students mainly from Kenya and
Tanzania to get some relevance from education attained in Uganda. Besides, parents appreciate the
curriculum that is why the number of foreign students is growing annually.
Regardless of the shortfalls, cross-boarder education in an era of globalization is healthy and international
exposure is ideal to prepare students capable of serving and strengthening East African community spirit.
Students come to appreciate and share cultural aspects of the comrade countries other than their own;
however there is a danger of cultural erosion since the providers of education in Uganda do not share nor
provide a platform for promoting cultural values of the other participating East African countries.
Public facilities versus population explosion
Education is a social service and a human right. However, having taken over 40 years without constructing
new schools amidst rapid population explosion; given the characteristic feature of the countrys population
(50% young), there was bound to be challenges of service provision. However, amidst challenges of limited
public finances to deliver social services like education to its people, it was inevitable for government to
partner with the private sector under what is popularly known as public private partnership. To avoid
irregularities however, the government ought to retain and vigourise its mandate of regulating education
provision to ensure that even private investors do not emphasize private gains at the expense of education
serving the cause of nation development. Another import feature of Ugandas population is the poverty
levels about 31% of Ugandans live on less that $1 a day according to UNDP. Much as privatization of
education was regarded as a timely rescue at the time it was embraced, a challenge posed is that of
affordability. It is apparent that many parents cannot afford to pay effectively for their children to study in
private schools yet government has taken decades without putting up new public schools, a trend that is
suggestive that most parents should take their children to private schools. Those who make deliberations to
educate their children end up disposing off the family assets so as to raise school fees but this may not pay
off since fees paid do not guarantee immediate profits and returns to the parents besides, some children
dropout prematurely before completion of the school cycle.
Privatization and Increase in private schools
Privatization of the education sector indeed led to an increase in the number of schools country wide as well
as school enrolment. As noted earlier above, Kampala city alone prides of 954 (primary) and 304
(secondary) recognised schools over 90% of whom are private (MoEs, 2010). The search for education at
whatever cost and the quest for financial gains by private investors are the main reason behind the
mushrooming private schools around the country. Students and parents have an opportunity to choose
private schools of their choice, and the fact that established schools have different fees structures; there are
schools for the affluent, the average or middle class and the very poor. If one is not contented with the costs
in one school he or she is at liberty to move to another school which will give them a better pricing (Bwire,
2010b). However, government liberalised the education sector without putting in place mechanisms of how
to regulate the sector to ensure fair and equal play, quality and affordable service, professional and ethical
conduct. This gap has been exploited by some private investors to exploit the parents without government
intervening.
Among other factors, privatization of education has been closely linked to the declining standards and
conditions of education in the country. Education was a causality of the vigorous privatization policy that
Uganda as a country undertook without putting in place checks and balance mechanisms to regulate
provision (Kisangala, 2009). Not surprising that 37% of the respondents maintained that private schools are
9

just businesses; away for investors to earn money. Inline argument by a Uganda parent is that private sector
entry into the provision of education has destroyed the education system because private providers mainly focus
at getting students pass exams in any way possible even if it means cheating those exams for them, as this is the
basis for them to get more student. This is consistent with what Bwire (2010b) and Talemwa (2009) who
summarised education as a thriving industry, booming; generating revenue and is expected to grow from 50
to $150m in the next two years.

Conclusions and Recommendations

There has been a steady rise in the private primary and secondary schools following Ugandas adoption of
the liberalization policies in 1990s. The government actively encourages private sector participation and
investment in the development of the education sector. Consequently, private schools have greatly
supplemented education provision for masses in the entire region of East Africa. But, a lot needs to be done
by the ministry of education and sports to streamline education provision in the country. In spite of all the
developments, education sector continues to register low learning outcomes Nannyonjo (2007) cited in
Byamugisha (2010). School factors have partly been pointed as enormous problems and a major cause of
poor performance of school pupils. There is therefore need to review, evaluate and rejuvenate the entire
process and devise regulatory mechanisms for private providers to adhere to. Government ought to monitor
private schools for quality assurance and check on ever increasing fees charged.
The provision of education by private sector is not a new phenomenon in Uganda. It started way back
during colonial era (1950s) although its rapid rise can be seen beginning in the 1970s. However, provision by
private sector has gradually taken shape from religious bodies and missionaries to include sole investors and
groups of individuals. These became more pronounced in the 1990s when the Government of Uganda
adopted the liberalisation policies. However, there is controversy surrounding the true motive of private
education providers; where some scholars argue that they solely invest in education as a business and expect
high profits, contrary to the value of education for national development spelt out in the 1992 white paper
on education. It is also contrary to education as a social service and a human right. Regardless, the role of
private investors in the education sector cannot be overlooked; given the course of events, enrolment in
private schools is likely to outstrip public schools. Apparently, majority of foreign students studying in
Uganda from the entire East African region are enrolled in private schools.
Parents make many important choices regarding their childrens education. These choices include the type of
school their children attend, whether to use private tutoring, and their level of school involvement and
support. Apparently, there is relatively high level of parents satisfaction in private schools. Despite the
controversy that surrounds their true motives, a good percentage of parents are satisfied with the services
provided by some private schools because of the fact that they get more services and professional touch for
their children. Examination grades are mainly used as a yardstick for parents satisfaction; i.e., as pointed out
above, in cases where their children pass national examinations with relatively good grades, the parents
would automatically exhibit high levels of satisfaction in that respective school, leaving other factors constant
and thus, that particular school would get high turn up the next academic year.
Like private sector involvement, cross boarder education existed in East Africa since colonial times. As
indicated above, key personalities in East African politics and history were trained in Uganda (Makerere
University). However, in the early days cross boarder education was minimal at primary and secondary
levels. It mainly became a key factor in the 1990s largely due to several factors. In part, education reforms
instituted by the post conflict NRM government saw a growing number of parents from neighboring
countries; Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda bring their children to study in Uganda. Other factors are the
conflicts and wars in southern Sudan and Somalia respectively which act as a push for parents to enroll their
children in Ugandan schools where there is relative stability. On a positive note, cross-boarder education has
enhanced mutual understanding, helped nations with capacity development, generate revenue, and address
global issues and concerns. Sharing ideas and learning about new ideas in political, cultural, and academic
spheres has always been a central aspect. It is therefore an important vessel to consolidate regional
achievements and strengthen progress towards economic integration.

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Fees payment remains a mystery since are no standardized fees paid in primary and secondary schools in
Uganda. Despite the reprieve given by government to foreign students, the absence of a policy guiding
school fees payment in private schools creates a gap that is exploited over charge parents. To streamline
education provision however, there is a need for a body to guide foreign students/parents on the school
choice/selection. School fees regulations / standardization in private schools is another area that needs serious
follow up by the Ministry of Education and Sports.

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Contact Details

Name of Second Author:

Name of Third Author:

Name of Lead Author:

Olivia Mugabirwe
School of Education
Makerere University Kampala
P. O Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Email: oliviaborgia@yahool.com

Batilda Evarist Moshy

Sokoine University of Agriculture
[SUA]
PO Box 3073 Morogoro, Tanzania
Email: e.batilda@gmail.com

Ashabrick Nantege
BRAC Uganda
P.O Box 36452, Kampala
Email: ashabrn@yahoo.co.uk

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