Uganda: The Price of Free School for All

摘要

Although seven-year-old Fred Sekayingo cannot see, his hand shoots up regularly to answer Harriet Myendwoha's questions. Each time he speaks, his 103 classmates burst into thunderous applause. Fred beams. This is primary 4 class in Kamurasi Demonstration Primary School in rural Masindi, 130 miles from Kampala, Uganda. It boasts 145 disabled children on its 1,091 pupil roll, which has tripled since the government abolished primary school tuition fees in 1997. Despite having a teacher: pupil ratio of 1:110, sparse learning resources and a shortage of qualified special needs teachers, headteacher Byoona Ntairaho is determined to deliver primary education for all - ensuring girls, orphans and disabled children are in his fold. Myendwoha, who self-funded her course in special educational needs, visits parents to encourage them to send their disabled children to school. She is training Kamurasi's other teachers to teach Braille and has taught all pupils to sign so the special needs children feel included.