The Role of NGOS in the Promotion and Protection of the Children's Right to Education: A Case Study of Bushenyi District
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Date
2011-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kampala International University, bachelors degree of laws
Abstract
This study is a critical analysis of children right to education, the state of the law in
promoting and protecting the same s well as the role played by the NGOs towards the
promotion and protection of the right to education in Uganda. The study was
undertaken because of the growing concern about of the illiteracy levels as well as the
high numbers of school dropouts t all levels as witnessed in African countries, Uganda
being an example.
Children are involved in a number of practices such as prostitution in the commercial
and tourism sex industry, forced begging on the streets, and forced soldiering. They may
be used as camel, donkeys, domestic servants, farm laborers/herders, mine laborers,
produce porters, roadside sellers/street vendors, sweatshop-industry laborers, cooks
and porters for rebels among others which deprive them of their right to education.
Poverty as one of the major causes for the growing numbers of children dropout cases
and their involvement in the agricultural sector in Uganda has caused a number of
children to engage in child-labour activities to earn extra income for household survival
at the peril of education. Many children have opted for partial attendance in school,
eventually dropping out. Parents have also frequently influenced children to work on
family farms, thus contributing to the children dropping out of school. Child-labour
practices have become entrenched in the social and moral fabric of Ugandan society,
and for this reason, research endeavors to uncover ways and methods to reverse this
situation.
The main objectives of this research were to establish the impact of examine the role
played by the NGOS in the promotion and protection of the children's right to education
in Uganda.
The study was undertaken in Bushenyi District. The respondents that were used for the
study included child laborers, their parents, farmers, and community leaders as well as
the NGOs operating from Bushenyi District.
The method used to get to the sample was purposive sampling. Data was collected using
questionnaires for written answers and a tape recorder for oral answers. Both primary
and secondary data was collected, verified, edited, checked, coded, analyzed, and then
exported to Excel and Microsoft word programs for organization.
Collecting the data was a challenging exercise for the researcher. Experiences were
varied, in the hospitality and willingness of respondents to learn more about child
issues. Although respondents were willing to participate in the data collection exercise,
social and cultural values did not permit all of them to share their views with the
researcher. To collect data from respondents, the researcher had to ensure that
remuneration was in place at the end of the exercise. The respondents filled out the
questionnaires only after learning of the availability of a reward for every questionnaire
answered. More setbacks were the need to travel long distances, and enduring the poor
infrastructure, poor sanitation, and epidemic outbreaks, some of which diluted the
quality of data collected. During group interviews, most parents were not entirely
truthful about involving their children in child-labour activities at the expense of the
children's right to education. Although most respondents had an idea of what the child
right to education is, their ignorance levels on the topic prevented them from stopping
their children from working.
The major findings of the research were that the cultural, social and economic
setup of the community in the study area favored not the children's right to education
like the girl child and prove the competence of the NGOs in delivering the towards the
promotion and protection of the right to education as per the state of the law.
The major recommendations of the research to the study are that culture should not
override the Constitution as far as the definition of age limit is concerned. The
government should carry out stakeholder analyses, and implement a-life-skills and
sensitization programme in order to improve child participation in the UPE as well as the
USE programme.
Description
A Dissertation Submitted To Kampala International University In Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Award of a Bachelors Degree in Laws
Keywords
Role of NGOS, Children's Right to Education, Bushenyi District