Uganda: Primary and Secondary Education Statistics

Education in Uganda: High Dropout Rates and Education and Disability: Dropout Figures for Uganda showed the high number of dropouts in primary education. Disability and Literacy/Numeracy in Uganda showed details of the percentage of children that had completed P5. People who have passed the 5th year of primary school (P5) are considered numerate and literate. Dropouts were presented as a proportion of those CWDs that were being educated. Numeracy and literacy figures were presented as a percentage of those enrolled in education. How many children with disabilities (CWDs) are enrolled into education in primary and secondary schools?

According to the World Bank in 2015 48% of the population of Uganda is 0-14 years old. The Population of Uganda in 2015 was estimated to be 39,032,383 that means that 18,735,544 of Uganda's population is under 15 years old. Education is therefore an important concern for all Uganda citizens, more so for CWDs.

The Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2011 shows that between the ages of 5-9 years 11.5% of the population has some form of disability, for children aged 10-19 years 12.3% have some form of disability.

Paul  Emong's 2014 thesis The realisation of human rights for disabled people in higher education in Uganda: a critical analysis drawing on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has some interesting statistics on the number of CWDs enrolled into Primary education. The data in Table A is collated from tables in his thesis.

Table A: Total number of pupils enrolled to primary schools from 2002-2004

Year	Total Intake of Pupils	Total Intake of CWDs	Percentage CWDs
2002	1,847,160	48,063	2.6
2003	1,914,893	51,965	3.1
2004	1,837,277	44,866	2.4

Primary school begins at 5 years and finishes at 11 years old in Uganda, between these ages 11.5-12.3% of the children have some kind of disability. It would be reasonable to expect that  11.5-12.3% of the of the intake for 2002-2004 was disabled instead of the 2.4-3.1% reported.

THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2013: Children With Disabilities reports the following interesting graphic:

Four Case Studies

A possible criticism of the 2002-2004 data for admissions to primary schools is that these figures have been calculated from inaccurate data on the number of the population reporting disability. The best that can be said therefore, for the 2002-2004 figures is that they may be very inaccurate. However, data compiled by this blog, from Ugandan Statistical Abstracts for 2010 and 2011 using current disability statistics confirms Emong's findings. See Table B below:

Table B: Total number of pupils enrolled to primary school from 2010-2011
Compiled from UGANDA EDUCATION STATISTICAL ABSTRACT 2010 and UGANDA EDUCATION STATISTICAL ABSTRACT 2011.

Year	Total Intake of Pupils	Total Intake of CWDs	Percentage CWDs
2010	8,374,648	205,018	2.4
2011	8,098,177	197,200	2.4

Table B shows clearly that 2.4% of the total intake were CWDs. There are no figures on the total number of CWDs in Uganda. However, the proportion of the total intake should be between 11.5 and 12.3% CWDs, it is around 2.4% meaning that almost 80% of CWDs that would be expected to receive a primary education are not going to school. 

Secondary education: The 2014 report The state of ACCESS TO EDUCATION BY WOMEN & GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES, THE CASE OF UGANDA gives the following information:

• Table of enrollment in Secondary school, students with Special Needs (2007-2010)

Table C: Total Intake to Secondary Education 

Year	Total Intake of CWDs	Percentage CWDs
2007	12,103	1.3
2008	11,145	1.0
2009	13,418	1.1
2010	12,993	1.1

Secondary education begins at the age of 12 years, at that age 12.3% of the children have some kind of disability. It would be reasonable to expect that 12.3% of the of the intake for 2007-2010 was disabled instead of the 1.0-1.3% reported. This means that more than 89% of CWDs that could be expected are not attending school. 

In summary, the tables presented above show that inclusive education in Uganda is failing CWDs. Almost 80% of CWDs are not even starting education. The situation for secondary schools is even more dismal, almost 90% of CWDs that could be expected at school are not attending. These figures show clearly that schools in Uganda are far from inclusive and that the whole notion of inclusion in Uganda has a long way to go.