Help a Student Stay in School in Uganda

Working closely with schools and administrators gives us considerable insight into the many issues affecting them and the challenges they face.  From our experience, qualitative research and a simple survey with teachers in all 136 schools, we identified parental involvement as one of the critical issues affecting primary education in Uganda.

With the introduction of Universal Primary Education, and the government's taking control of the majority of schools, many parents have become distanced from their children's education.  Additionally, as many parents have not gone to school themselves, schools can seem intimidating and demanding as parents struggle to raise the resources and supplies to keep their children enrolled.  Teachers called for "parent sensitization."

We saw the same need in relation to the Super Savers Program.  Over the past year, we noted that many children were saving on their own.  Though this was a valuable learning experience, we were concerned that it might not lead to keeping children in school, as fees are most often paid by parents or guardians.  Decreasing drop out rates would require greater parental involvement.

This term we started a "Parent Sensitization" program.  39 of the treatment schools were randomly selected to participate in the first term of this year, February to April 2011.  We hosted and directed parents meetings at each of the schools, inviting parents, providing a meal or snack and discussing the roles and responsibilities of schools, the government and parents under Universal Primary Education.  We then transitioned into talking about the Super Savers Program and how it can not only provide a valuable learning experience for children, but help parents raise the funds necessary to keep them in school.

The program has had a tremendously positive response. Attached is a photo of Festo, one of our program officers, explaining the savings process to parents during a meeting.