A glaring lack of mutual accountability between primary schools and parents, poor financial record keeping and bad management is threatening the quality of basic education in seven African countries, including Uganda.
A report by Transparency International (TI), published today, found schools in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, Madagascar and Niger had poor governance systems and practices, with limited availability of financial documentation at district education offices and schools, which was impeding progress in achieving the six aims of the Education For All (EFA) initiative and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The survey also revealed a lack of interest by parents in the running of schools.
The report, Africa Education Watch: Good governance lessons for primary education, examined primary education management structures in the seven African states, analyzing data from 8,500 questionnaires completed by parents, head teachers, the heads of parent teacher associations (PTAs) and district education officers.
The report’s publication comes as the three-day EFA high level group meeting opens in Ethiopia. The annual meeting, which runs until Thursday, will bring together representatives from national governments, NGOs, UN agencies, civil society groups and the private sector to discuss progress towards the EFA goals and the MDGs. The meeting will consider recommendations made in the EFA global monitoring report, published in December, that examined the impact of the global financial downturn on education. The report was highly critical of national governments and the donor community’s commitment to meeting education targets.
Source: Africa World News
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