| dc.description.abstract | Universal primary education is one of the key achievements of
the current Ugandan government. The program was introduced to
provide free access to education to all children of school going
age and increase the literacy levels in the country. However the
financing of universal primary education is under question.
Nearly all the biggest percentage of the local government budget
targeting universal primary education sources suffers several
inconsistencies including budget cuts. The district and lower
local governments operate within very meager local revenues
which are also very unsustainable and too little to cause
impact, thus a need to mobilize, expand the revenue sources of
these local governments.
The study intended to assess the impact of the low funding faced
by local governments on the performance of universal primary
education in Kiboga District. The research was conducted in
Kapeke Sub County, Kiboga District, sampling ten out of the
twelve schools in the Sub County. The study considered schools
in a semi- urban, pastoral and areas occupied by cultivators.
These different clusters enabled the researcher to analyze
issues from people in different settings and different problems,
perceptions and experiences. It analyzed various variables like
the revenue sources, dropout rates, performance rate in primary
leaving examinations, infrastructural levels, school attendance
for pupils, teachers’ accommodation and salaries in addition to
other parameters between 2008 and 2016.
The study targeted several classes of respondents namely finance
department staff at district and Sub county, head teachers and
members of School Management Committees of the sampled schools.
Data was collected using interviews, review and analysis of
documents. The analysis was done using tables, percentages and
explanations. The study discovered that Kiboga District receives
low and inadequate funding from the central government. This is
made worse by very low local revenue base that does not enable
supplementation of the school funding. This affects teachers’
accommodation, availability of scholastic materials, adequate
teaching space, day meals, participation in extracurricular
activities and other necessities. The study recommended increase
in funding of universal primary education sector, which can be
done through widening the financial base of the District in
terms of local revenue, community contributions, donors and
Central government transfers. | en_US |
