Barriers to the retention and completion rates of girl child education in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Luwero District

Abstract

The study examined barriers to the retention and completion rates of girl child education in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Luwero district. It was guided by the following objectives; to examine socio-economic factors that influence girls’ retention and completion rates in UPE schools in Luwero district, to determine the influence of school-based factors on girls’ retention and completion rates in UPE schools in Luwero district and to examine the influence of cultural norms and practices on the retention and completion rates of girl child education in UPE schools in Luwero district. I used an exploratory research design of qualitative approaches of data collection and analysis. The study was conducted in two (2) purposively selected UPE schools out of the 230 UPE schools in Luwero District and these were; St. Kizito Naluvule Primary School and Lukomera Church of Uganda Primary School. The study population consisted of teachers, deputy head teacher, drop outs and students of primary seven. A sample size of 26 respondents was used that included; six (6) Key informants, ten (10) dropouts and ten (10) girls from primary seven. The participants were equally chosen from both schools. A purposive sampling technique was used to select key informants, a convenience sampling technique was used to select students and a snow ball sampling technique was used to select dropouts. Qualitative data was collected using in-depth Interview guides, key informant interview guides and analyzed thematically. Findings revealed that poverty among parents led to school dropout because the majority of parents were small-scale farmers and petty traders. Owing to poor economic status, they faced challenges in paying the extra fees that were not catered for by UPE. Some pupils had to engage in income generating activities to supplement family income. The study further confirmed that forced marriages and early pregnancies contributed significantly towards school dropout in UPE schools, particularly among teenage mothers who were subjected to psychological torture, stigmatization and isolation that made it difficult for them to remain in school. The study recommends a holistic approach that involves community collaboration, policy advocacy, promoting social change and educational support to improve learner retention and completion rates in UPE schools in Luwero District.