The politics of primary education in Uganda, parent participation and national reforms

Educational reforms in Uganda since 1986, culminating in the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1996, attempted to reestablish centralized control over education and, by implication, reverse the trend toward the unregulated involvement in education of both of parents and non-state institutions. These reforms ran counter to existing participatory patterns of educational financing and administration, as well as to the political philosophy underpinning the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government, i.e., democratization and popular participation in decision-making and service delivery. The inherent tension between educational reforms and political goals raises an important question that is central to this study: Can the state strengthen its administrative control over education and also preserve and extend local participation? This study examines parent participation at the local level in the financing and management of primary education during the period 1971 to 1997. This is a period that began with a slide toward political and economic disintegration and ended with a decade of political and economic consolidation under the NRM. Among the objectives the NRM set out to achieve after seizing power in January 1986 was the creation of a political consensus around its political reforms with the broad aim of promoting democracy. Among its other objectives, the new government sought to equalize educational opportunities as a cornerstone of its poverty eradication strategy. The link between the two objectives--promoting democracy and equalizing educational opportunities--was straightforward: a more "educated" citizenry would contribute to the democratic, participatory and development-oriented agenda of the NRM government. Focusing on the patterns of participation that emerged during the period of disintegration as diverse groups and interests became involved in the schools, the study examines the political and educational implications of that participation during the time of national consolidation. This study makes four arguments. First, that participation, as it became established in Uganda drew upon powerful individual and family motives, as well on concerns for the common good. Second, that government efforts to assert political control over education in order to equalize access to education and promote equality tended to divide parents between those who supported the added investment and those who opposed the reduction of roles for parents and religious institutions. Third, that this opposition based on hard won and effective system of participation put the government's legitimacy at risk; whereby to build a consensus for its policies, the government had to find a way of working with institutions of participation. Fourth, that as politics became more open and participation increasingly institutionalized, the government, having a development agenda, ran into problems concerning its perceived legitimacy and its need to build consensus for its policies. This fourth argument extrapolates beyond the case study to highlight how the issue of parent participation is a harbinger of heightened politics associated with opening up political systems where strong participation exists in an area where government needs to increase its legitimacy.