Uganda

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Ugandas experience in using Good Schools Toolkit

• willington_at_raisingvoices.org
• www.raisingvoices.org

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Overview

• Ugandan context
• Raising Voices
• Violence against children in Uganda
• Good Schools Toolkit
• How is the Toolkit used to prevent violence
  against children and promote a safe learning
  environment?

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Ugandan Context
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• Current population estimated at 33 Million People
• 52 of the population is below the age of 18
• Refugees live among host communities in urban and
  rural areas
• Number of refugees and asylum seekers is
  currently 204,000 (DRC, Somalia, Rwanda, South
  Sudan)
• A fivefold increase in the number of urban
  refugees 48,000

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Raising Voices
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• NGO working to prevent violence against women and
  children in Uganda formed in 1999
• Interventions are based on prevention
• Violence against children work in schools through
  promotion of Good Schools toolkit

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Education in Uganda

• Free universal Primary Education was introduced
  in 1997
• Since the 2006 Refugee Act all refugee children
  have free access to education
• Refugees have access to Ugandan schools. No
  separate schools for refugees
• Drop-out rates are high only 23 complete 7
  years of education
• Quality of schools and learning environment are
  generally poor to allow meaningful learning for
  children

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Violence against children in Uganda

• Violence against children is common at school,
  at home and in communities
• 2005 Raising Voices and Save the Children study
  98 of children reported physical or emotional
  violence, 76 of the 1400 children interviewed
  reported experiencing sexual abuse
• A significant number of children reported
  experiencing the violence at least once a week or
  more

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Why are so many children dropping out of schools?
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• Over 48 of children who dropped out between
  1997 and 2003 attributed it to violence against
  children
• A wide range of communities do not value boys and
  girls equally regarding access and retention in
  schools
• Most focus/ budgetary allocation is on physical
  infrastructure, recruiting more teachers,
  providing instructional materials but not
  exploring software interventions that improve
  childrens experience of school

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Good Schools Toolkit
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• Good and motivated teachers
• Safe and respectful learning environment
• Accountable and transparent school administration
• Schools engaged in a six step phased change
  process over a period of 18 months

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Good schools objective

• A Good School aims to create a violence-free
  learning environment within which students
  develop their skills and confidence to grow into
  creative, constructive and thoughtful members of
  their community.

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Six Steps

• Step 1 your team and network
• Step 2 preparing for change
• Step 3 good teachers and teaching
• Step 4 positive discipline
• Step 5 good learning environment
• Step 6 good administration and the future

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Key activities Good Schools
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• Used in 500 schools including refugee children in
  Uganda, some Kenyan and Tanzanian schools have
  started experimenting the ideas
• Working with children as agents of change to
  prevent violence in their schools Active and
  responsive children committees
• Teacher engagement on alternative ways of
  disciplining children and creating meaningful
  relationships with learners Positive Discipline
  Handbook, What is a Good teacher, what is a safe
  learning environment
• Relationship building with school administration
  to collaboratively develop and support zero
  tolerance to violence against children

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Key activities Good Schools

• Local Activism Promoting community dialogues
  through community events
• Every school term developing Good Schools action
  plan involving teachers, children and community
  members
• Similar interventions for urban and rural schools
• Key emphasis on cost simple activities that
  dont require huge financial investments Just
  imagination and creativity to strive something
  extra ordinary
• Good Schools peer learning network
• Activities for promoting Childrens voice in
  schools

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Thank you!

• www.raisingvoices.org

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Good School Toolkit Innovation/Rollout
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