Introduction
School fees are mandatory fees imposed by either the government or an entity in charge of providing educational opportunities. These fees can be instituted for basic educational needs or a variety of other purposes such as boarding, food, supplies or transportation. Due to a general lack of funding and poor resources, school fees are levied upon children in mainly developing countries as a way to recoup funds towards educating the nation's children. As a result, these fees create a wide disparity of who can and cannot afford a basic education, compounded by the fact that the local, province and nation rarely subsidize educational programs, infrastructure and necessities. 

School Fees in East Africa
East Africa is no exception to escape the prevalence of school fees.  The realities of limited resources and funding has lead to school fees that often prohibit African children from crucial access to schooling. Several East African countries have begun to tackle the problem of school fees by providing universal primary education (UPE) to many children, which has brought about a substantial increase in the number of children entering and completing primary education.  Uganda has implemented universal primary education to children dramatically increasing attendance rates throughout the country.

However to date, no East African country has fully implemented a policy of universal secondary education (USE) within their country. [Uganda has proposed implementation of USE by the end of 2007, yet strong internal and external critics argue that universal primary education has been chronically under-funded and that the entire funding of primary education should be fixed before tackling another realm of a child’s education: secondary education.]  This fact translates into meaning that fees are still prohibitive for students, as seen by the greater than 60% decrease in enrollment between primary and secondary education in the example of Uganda.

As defined by UNESCO, secondary education is defined as the "amorphous zone that lies between basic education and higher education. Secondary education is a step for pupils between the ages of 11 or 12 and 18. At this level, pupils are expected to broaden their knowledge and experiences from the basic level and prepare for work or higher education."

Due to current global initiatives throughout East Africa to ensure children have a right to universal primary education, the topic of secondary education has been left off all of the local and international policies and agendas.  As a direct result, hundreds of thousands of children have no opportunity to continue their education at a secondary school level, which is a vital link between students and future jobs or University.  Not only is secondary education of great value to the student, but time and again, secondary education has been shown to be one of the most important steps that will aid in the development of a community, economy, and nation. 

As the successes of universal primary school education (UPE) continue in a number of countries in Africa, more children than ever will stop all formal schooling after completing primary school due to the burden of school fees.  Since school fees can make up as much as a quarter of a poor family’s annual income, families are often forced to decide which children to send to school and how long they may attend.  These choices have resulted in orphans and girls disproportionately excluded from additional schooling due to the burden of school fees upon one’s family.  While oppressive to most African families, public school fees range between $250 to 500 USD per student each year.

While there have been initiatives to improve education in East Africa on many fronts, secondary education has not seen the direct impact of these efforts.  Therefore the knowledge gained in school needed to succeed in life is often never fully realized, as many students are unable to build upon this knowledge by furthering their education.  At the Dobbyn Foundation we feel that the importance of attending secondary school must not be overlooked. Therefore, our mission is to provide financial assistance to children that would otherwise not be able to afford a secondary education, and secondly begin to change the system of charging school fees at the secondary level.

The Change of Primary School Attendance to Secondary School Attendance Ratio-Females (In other words, this data indicates the ratio of females who enter secondary school after they have finished primary school.  A negative number indicates a decrease in students attending secondary school after the students have completed primary school.)

The numbers speak for themselves.

This data set means that on average within Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda:

58% of male children that attend primary school don’t attend secondary school
57% of female children that attend primary school don’t attend secondary school

These numbers portray the value in the work of the Dobbyn Foundation and the difference we believe we can make with your donation.

Please see the following documents for more information.

		Primary vs Secondary Education [PDF]
		Education Data 2006 [Excel]

The educational system in Uganda, East Africa

The system of education in Uganda was originally established when Uganda was a British colony, with semblance based upon the British educational model. This system was formally adopted after Uganda gained independence in 1962.

Today, the school system in Uganda is based upon a 7 - 4 – 2 model. This model represents the years spent at different educational levels. For example a child spends seven years in Primary School, four years in Secondary School and two years in High School before going on to join a University for a Degree course or a related Institution for a Diploma course. Keep in mind that very few children complete all levels of education in Uganda.

Formal school education in Uganda begins at approximately age seven, although most children never get the opportunity to start school on the above stated schedule due to illness, lack of schools, employment or family decisions.

There are three school terms in Uganda titled the First term (approximately February to April), Second term (May to August) and Third term (September to December). A school term lasts for about three months followed by an approximate three week break, although the third term break is the longest. The school year in Uganda begins in early February and ends in mid December every year.

Schools in Uganda are formal in nature and teachers are highly respected by the pupils and other members of the community. Most children have the desire to go to school and value their education. All pupils must wear a school uniform with a badge illustrating the name of their school, although different schools will have different color and style of uniforms. The boys typically wear a shirt and a pair of shorts, while the girls will wear a dress to school each day. Most children in the rural schools do not wear shoes; instead they walk on bare feet and can even be seen playing football and other games without anything protecting their bare feet. In fact most children have to walk to school, with some instances of children walking over five miles to school.

The class sizes in Uganda are between forty and eighty children within an individual classroom. Some schools do not have benches and tables, so the pupils have to sit and write on the floor. Educational facilities vary widely throughout the country due to strict financial constraints.