Department of Education Information and Sports

To provide for, support, guide coordinate, regulate and promote quality Education and Sports to all Children in Kampala City Council Schools for individual and national development.

2. OBJECTIVES

		To improve Teaching and learning
		To ensure universal and equitable access quality education
		To improve management of schools in the City
		To ensure that schools provide a conducive learning environment in city schools
		To improve net enrolment and retention of pupils until they complete their education cycle.

3. STRATEGIES

The education department strategies aim at having its technical staff off their desks and spending most of their working time in the field, Supervising, Monitoring, Mentoring, Coaching, Tracking and ensuring proper utilization of grants and other funds disbursed to schools.

Through this, the department would ensure proper accountability by all. These strategies include:

		To conduct continuous professional development programmes for teachers and education managers.
		Provision facilities e.g. Classroom, water harvesting systems, sanitary facilities, desks and instructional materials and readers.
		Ensure regular school supervision and monitoring
		Create an education management information system.
		Enhance involvement of stakeholders in the Development, and promotion of sports and other co-curricular activities.
		Provision of alternative education approaches for children who can not access formal education
		Enhance community awareness to participate in education service delivery.
		Supervise private education providers to ensure conformity to the minimum Education Standards.
		Provide Library Services to the Public through the Kampala City council Main Library.
		Providing Library support services to schools.

4. STRUCTURE/PERSONNEL IN THE DEPARTMENT

Following the restructuring exercise in Kampala City Council, at the end of 2005, the Department is now headed by the City Director of Education and Deputized by a Deputy. The position of the Principal Inspector of Schools is yet to be filled. Two additional Senior Officer Positions have been created, making the Senior Officers at head Office four. The total number of officers in the department at both head office and the division stands at twenty one out of the required minimum thirty positions.

The District has eighty four Governments Grant Aided Schools and twenty Government Grant Aided Secondary Schools. Private Schools include approximately two hundred and fifty Nurseries, four hundred Primary and two hundred Secondary. The exact number of private schools fluctuates as some schools open, close or shift without informing the department.

As shown above the department is large with a large workforce ranging from Senior Officers down to the Support Staff in Schools. The Support staff in schools includes bursars, nurses, cookes and other casual labourers. Consequently the department handles a wide range of activities.

This report therefore, will only highlight key programmes and activities carried out by the department.

5. ACTIVITIES/PROGRAMMES

Some of the core services provided include:-

5.1

SCHOOL FACILITIES GRANT (SFG)

This is a grant released by central government to local Government. It has six major components.

		Classroom Construction
		Sanitation facilities (both and water born toilets)
		Furniture
		Teachers� houses
		Rain water harvesting (rwh) including water tanks.
		Renovations and rehabilitation of school infrastructure.

Progress of works in this financial year is as follows:

There are 32 stances of water borne toilets at Kyebando Primary School, Kiwatule Primary School, Kasubi C/U and at Kibuye Primary School. There are eight stances at each site and the stances at Kyebando are now complete. The others are all at the finishing stage that is plastering and plumbing.

All the 542 pieces of furniture have been delivered at the various schools.

Four classrooms have been re-roofed at East Kololo Primary School raining only the Library and the Staff house.

All three classrooms at Naguru Katali and the Administration block have been re-roofed.

The four classrooms at St. Joseph Nsambya have been completed remaining with only Engraving and soft board fixing.

At Namungoona Kigobe, the 4 Teacher�s houses have been roofed and plaster work has already started.

At Wandegeya Muslim, 4 classrooms are under renovation and plastering is in progress.

At Bukasa, 4 classroooms are being constructed and are at walling stage.

All the sites for rain water harvesting remain with tank installation since all the bases and gutters are in place. The sites include:- Kyambogo, Kalinabiri, Makerere University and St. Paul Banda Primary Schools.

5.2

UPE

Primary Education is one of the key sectors identified in Governments Poverty Eradication Action Plan (1997) to benefit from the Poverty Action Fund PAF. These PAF resources include the universal Primary Education (UPE) Capitation Grant.

The grant aims at:-

		Improving equitable access to basic education by removing the burden of paying fees from the parents.
		Enhancing quality of primary education by providing schools with resources necessary to run the school.

Through this grant annual fixed tuition fees for all pupil in government aided primary schools with a threshold of one hundred thousand for all schools. In Urban district like Kampala, parents are expected to pay ten thousand four hundred per parent per term as the official tuition fees.

The process of releasing funds to schools has been streamlined causing some noticeable improvement.

However, accountability from schools is slow and division education officers have been detailed to rigorously supervise utilization of financial resources in schools.

5.3

BASIC EDUCATION FOR THE URBAN POOR BEUPA)

This is a project which targets children who inspite of the UPE programme could not be in formal school. There are various reasons for their inability to access formal school. A project was initiated in Kampala, offering alternative flexible basic education approaches for children who could not attend formal schooling. The project is supported by GTZ, Central Government and Kampala City Council.

The goal of this project is to create opportunities for an increasing number of disadvantaged children and adolescent in urban poverty areas thus to improving their living conditions through education.

(Specific Objectives):-

		To improve the capacity of the education department to deliver non formal basic education.
		To increase community demand for and participation in Basic education activities.
		To encourage children in BEUPA centres to complete a three year basic education package.
		To test strategies for supportive and career guidance
		To further develop the prevocational skills approaches and implement them.
		To work on the inclusion of BEUPA products and services into ESIP/ESSP in the decentralized system.

5.4

ENHANCEMENT OF UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITIES EUPEC.

This is a five years, School improvement Project, started in April 2005 as a successor to UPECK (which started in 1999). The project is supported by the Aga Khan Foundation and Aga Khan Development Network.

Major Activities of the Project include:-

		Working with Government Grant Aided and Private Primary Schools in the City.
		Facilitating workshops and courses for teachers, headteachers and city education officers and inspectors.
		Providing resources for making low cost education materials.
		Training School Management Committee Members.
		Developing school based resource centres.
		Networking with MOES and Core PTCs in Kampala.

5.5

SPORTS

Goal: To improve participation and performance of clubs and schools in various sporting activities.

Objectives:-

		Identify sporting talents from schools, institutions, Colleges and in Communities.
		To introduce a number of sporting activities in order to reduce idleness among the youth.
		To conceal sportsmen and women against drag abuse
		Enhance the sprit of sportsmanship among the youth.
		Improve Kampala City Council image through Sports
		For entrainments and leisure, fitness and health of community .
		To provide sporting facilities/centres for the residents.

5.6

LIBRARIES SERVICES

Library services are a recently decentralized service. Kampala City Council has one main Library mainly used by adults. The children�s library was closed due when the building in which it was accommodated was reposed. There is need to acquire alternative premises for the children�s Library.

5.7

INSPECTION, SUPERVISION AND MONITORING.

This is a critical area in the management of Education. It is a core function and cuts across all sectors in the department. Some of the activities include:-

		Assessment of performance by pupils, teachers and headteachers.
		Supervision of all education institution to ensure compliance to set rules regulations and guidelines.
		Supervision and Administration of External and Internal Exams
		Curriculum supervision and Implementation.
		Co-aching and monitoring teachers and headteachers.
		Training and assessing career development needs for teachers and headteacher.

CHALLENGES

		Inadequate funding of the priorities
		Uncontrolled opening of illegal school
		Lack of reliable transport for officers especially inspectors
		Repossession of Asian schools resulting in fear among parents.
		High cost of utilities eg. Water and electricity.
		Non availability of land for expansion and creation of new schools.
		Surveying school land and acquisition of land titles for schools.
		Renovation of school building. Most school building are old and in dire need of repairs. Kampala City Council should commit funds to supplement the meager allocation from central government under SFG.
		Sanitation in most government grand Aided schools is inadequate and below the desired standards. Efforts should be made to ensure that all have adequate and appropriate sanitation facilities.
		Lack of transport for staff is a serious constraint to the department�s performance as much of the work is field based.

APPRECIATION

The department wishes to pay special tribute to the outgoing Education Committee Members. Special thanks go to the Secretary for Education Information and Sports Ms. Florence Bagunywa Nkalubo and the Chairman Mr. Tom Fisher Kasenge for their visionary and wise leadership. Their contribution and support have left an indelible mark in the department

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