The testimony of neoliberal contradiction in education choice and privatisation in a poor country: the case of a private, undocumented rural primary school in Uganda

Abstract

With international momentum to achieve ‘Education for All’ by 2015, global attention is being paid to those parts of the world where mass formal primary schooling is relatively new. Uganda is such a place. In the context of ethnographic fieldwork at a poor, undocumented, private primary school in rural Uganda, parents were interviewed in order to better understand their conceptualisations of education during this ‘massification’ era. The interviews reveal interesting contradictions between the espoused neoliberal principles and the nuances with which they describe education. In the absence of a robust public schooling system, privatisation has emerged to fill the gaps in educational provision as the country finds itself caught between the international mandate for free primary education and the lack of capital.

Keywords:

• Uganda
• rural schooling
• ethnographic interviews
• choice
• privatisation

Notes

1. The WB made its first loan to Uganda 12 December 1959 for the expansion distribution of hydro-electric power across the country.

2. Names for the school and participants involved in the study are pseudonyms.

3. WB education finance to Uganda began in 1998 with computer grants and money (part grant and part interest-free loans). WB started to provide loans to Uganda in 1996 with a large interest bearing loan in 2009.

4. The most common additional costs are for supplies, uniforms and building fees. The average total cost of primary school is quite high at $16.74 USD for boys and $18.26 US for girls. Total school costs are high in relation to Uganda’s GDP per capita of $348 (World Bank 2012) and GNI of $550 USD per capita in 2013 (World Bank 2013). This amount would not sound like much to a Western reader from a wealthy context, but indeed it is a challenge for parents to pay. The high average costs indicate a high willingness to pay for primary school among Ugandan parents, but possibly, also, significant obstacles to full enrolment and reported drop out before completion of primary level.

5. Mayengo was responsible for conducting the interviews. They were completed in English, with Luganda used for support purposes.