Floods at a school in Uganda

From the first time a child joins school, everyone’s hope and dream is that they make it to each final level class and graduate to the next. Many resources go into this endeavour; fees, tutorials, books, pencils, advice – everything needed to have a success story. This is not a one man job – there are relatives, guardians, teachers, friends, government officials, and others that play their role, directly or indirectly, for the pupil to attain success.

Then comes D-day. A long awaited time. The day to prove worthy of all the investment put in. The first batch of pupils I will talk about woke up early in the morning, put on their uniforms – the cleanest they have ever been, got on their way to school but did not reach because the incessant rain flooded the roads rendering them impassable. The pupils miss the papers because they could not get to school. The second set of pupils, in another region of the country, made it safe to school, sat for the paper but did not get to finish because the rain disrupted the examination.

In a country where only 30% of those who enroll in Primary One reach the first final level stage (Primary Seven), according to Ministry of Education Statistics, one would think that all effort would go into making sure that the few who remain in the system are afforded every chance to excel, like making sure schools are accessible and functional in all weather. Not so it seems.

In many cases, I believe, Uganda is a self-defeating nation.