HRW Submits to UN on Child Rights in Uganda

We write in advance of the 100th pre-session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the "Committee") and its review of Uganda. This submission focuses on children's adequate standard of living, including the lack of social security; barriers to the right to education in early childhood, including inequalities in access to pre-primary education; barriers faced by adolescent girls who are pregnant or parenting; and child labor.

Social Security and Adequate Standard of Living (articles 26 and 27)

Uganda's 2020 National Child Policy identified a need to "mainstream social protection interventions targeting children and families in all its sectors and programs plans and budgets."[1] However, a 2024 analysis by the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) and Research and Action for Income Security found that Uganda's social protection for children is "almost nonexistent," particularly for children below age six. For children from 6-17, it found that social protection initiatives are "negligible," and notes that limited existing programs are funded solely by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and donors.[2] Neither of Uganda's main direct cash transfer programs-the Senior Citizens Grant and Northern Uganda Social Action Fund-target households with children.[3]

A 2021 analysis of social protection coverage in Uganda found that in the absence of any child-focused schemes provided at a national level, only 6.5 percent of the 25 million children in Uganda live in a household that receives some form of social protection transfer, meaning that more than 93 percent of children have no access to any income support.[4]

Human Rights Watch encourages the Committee to call on the government of Uganda to:

• Introduce universal child benefits to help ensure children and their families can enjoy their right to social security.

Right to Education (articles 28 and 29)

The government of Uganda introduced "Universal Primary Education" (UPE) in 1997 and universal secondary education (USE) in 2007.[5] Despite gains in enrollment, however, completion rates are poor. The latest data from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) indicates only 40 percent of children in Uganda complete primary education, and only 16 percent complete upper-secondary education.[6] The government's 2022 Education Partnership Compact cited high drop-out rates, poor educational achievement, insufficient and inadequately prepared teachers, and too few schools in some areas. Classes are often over-crowded and teacher absenteeism is rampant.[7]

Uganda's educational system is underfunded, with its education budget for 2023/24 accounting for only 8.4 percent of its total national budget, significantly below the international benchmark of 15 to 20 percent.[8] In 2022, Uganda spent 2.56 percent of its GDP on government-funded education, below the regional average in Africa of 3.68 percent,[9] and falling well short of international benchmarks that advise spending 4 to 6 percent of GDP on education.[10] In the 2023/24 budget, the percentage of GDP devoted to education fell even further, to 1.9 percent.[11]

Pre-primary education

According to the latest available government data, only 9 percent of pre-primary aged children (ages 3-5) in Uganda attend a registered and licensed preschool.[12] Household surveys indicate that more than 60 percent of 3-5-year-olds in Uganda are not attending school of any kind.[13]

The government of Uganda provides no public pre-primary education, with only one exception - a pre-primary school on the campus of the government-funded Makerere University in Kampala. The Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary Education Act of 2008 states that pre-primary education is "to be run by private agencies or persons" and that the financing "shall be a responsibility of the parents or guardians."[14] As a result, families seeking education for their young children must rely on private providers. Private preschools charge fees which can be an insurmountable barrier for many families, particularly those in rural areas and with little income. Some tuition fees can be very burdensome even for those with higher incomes. For example, the annual tuition at some pre-primary schools in Kampala, can exceed that for an engineering degree at Uganda's leading university, Makerere University.[15]

A 2024 joint report by Human Rights Watch and the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights, based on interviews with over 100 children, parents, teachers, and education officials, found that the lack of government-provided pre-primary in Uganda causes the majority of children to miss out on early learning, resulting in poorer performance in primary school, higher repetition and drop-out rates, and widening inequality.[16]

Interviews for the report and available research found that children who do not attend pre-primary school, on average, do not perform as well in primary school as children who attend pre-primary, and are twice as likely to repeat Grade 1 at the primary-school level as children who had attended pre-primary.[17] According to UNICEF, excessive repetition can result in 1.2 extra years of education per child and an estimated 5-10 percent of the education budget wasted.[18] Uganda's 2022 Education Partnership Compact notes that "poorly prepared learners without access to pre-primary education contributes to low primary-level learning outcomes, repetition, and dropout."[19]

Because pre-primary education is so expensive, some parents enroll their children in primary school earlier than the usual age of 6. According to available data, 20 percent of children aged 5 are already enrolled in primary school.[20] Early enrollment in primary school creates overcrowded classes, exacerbates inefficiencies in the education system, and increases repetition rates. In some schools, Primary 1 classes may have as many as 300-400 students, with only one teacher.[21]

Ugandan families with lower-incomes and those who live in rural areas are least likely to be able to access pre-primary education. More than half of children in the poorest 20 percent of households never attend a day of pre-primary.[22] In its 2020 state party report to the Committee, the Ugandan government stated that the concentration of early childhood development centers in the central and eastern regions of the country "excludes over 80 percent of the population who are poor and live in rural areas."[23] The lack of publicly-funded pre-primary contributes to Uganda's already high wealth inequality (35th in the world).[24]

The Ugandan government has repeatedly stated its commitment to early childhood development. Its 2020 state party report stated that it was working to expand community-based Early Childhood Development centers and to attach them to primary schools.[25] Its 2022 Education Partnership Compact includes an aspiration for "all children in Uganda to have the opportunity to complete at least one year of quality pre-primary education."[26] However, these commitments have yet to materialize.

Barriers faced by students who are pregnant or are adolescent mothers

Adolescent pregnancy, adolescent parenthood, and child marriage are major health and social concerns in Uganda and constitute a significant barrier for girls' education. According to national governmental data, 25 percent of girls and women ages 15 to 19 have begun childbearing, 34 percent of girls are married before age 18, and over 7 percent before age 15.[27] Adolescent pregnancies, which have stagnated, represent one fifth of total pregnancies registered annually. According to UNICEF, more than 300,000 adolescent pregnancies end in unsafe abortions[28] as a result of restrictions on access to legal abortions, and the lack of accessibility to information and services on safe, legal abortion care, as well as stigma against abortion.[29]

Many girls drop out of school permanently once they become parents, due in part to stigma in schools, the lack of support and accommodation for students who are parents, and financial barriers. School fees and other costs in public schools constitute a significant barrier for Uganda's most economically vulnerable and poorest families.[30] Government estimates state that teenage pregnancy accounts for 22 percent of school dropouts among girls aged 14 to 18; only 8 percent of girls re-enroll in school.[31]

In December 2020, Uganda's Ministry of Education and Sports published its "Revised Guidelines for the prevention and management of teenage pregnancy in school settings," providing a policy framework to clarify schools' roles.[32]

The revised guidelines provide an unequivocal message that "all schools should prioritize the admission of the young mothers/girls after pregnancy and parents/caregivers shall report the school that has refused to admit their daughter to the district education officer." This provision is crucial for education authorities to ensure that all schools recognize their obligation to re-enroll adolescent mothers and provide redress for children and parents when public schools refuse re-enrollment. The Ugandan government should widely promote this aspect of the policy and disseminate information about girls' education through community awareness and national campaigns.

Under Uganda's policy, once schools are notified or find out that a student is pregnant, they should ensure that the student is placed in a counselling program. Head teachers are to take measures to investigate and report allegations of sexual violence. The policy also says that stigma and discrimination against pregnant girls or young mothers is a form of psychological violence, and orders schools to counter such stigma and violence in school environments. The policy stipulates that schools "shall support adolescent mothers to link to community support structures for childcare, and economic support." The guidelines also provide flexibility to allow students who are out on maternity leave to take end-of-year examinations should they wish to, but it remains compulsory for students to take national qualifying examinations.

Although the guidelines support girls' right to education, they present a series of strict or burdensome "re-entry" conditions that Human Rights Watch had previously found could constitute an effective barrier for girls.[33] For example, the guidelines require girls to go on mandatory maternity leave when they are at least three-months' pregnant. They can only be unconditionally readmitted when their child is at least 6 months old. This means girls will effectively be out of school for at least a year.

The policy makes parents responsible for seeking a girl's readmission. Parents are expected to sign an agreement with the school about the girl's re-entry. This assumes that parents are largely supportive of girls' continuing education, whereas some families may try to bar girls from returning to school, particularly in cases of child marriage.

Male students responsible for a student's pregnancy will also be given mandatory leave during a girl's pregnancy, citing that this "might act as a deterrent and lesson to other boys." However, unlike girls, boys are not subject to mandatory paternity leave and will be allowed to return to school after a girl has delivered. In the case of a school change, schools are expected to share information on a male student's parenthood status with the new school, because this would be "useful in tracking him." Data on any students' pregnancy or parenthood status should respect their right to privacy. It should only be shared confidentially in school records as a means to support a student, to provide adequate counselling and access to services, and to accommodate their individual needs.

The guidelines state that the government's aim is to prevent teenage pregnancies through a series of measures, including problematic measures like relying on periodic pregnancy testing in schools, as well as testing all female students to avoid individual stigma against a girl who is reported or rumored to be pregnant. Human Rights Watch has found that pregnancy testing is not a preventive tool. It is stigmatizing for many girls, is often carried out without their consent, and is a serious infringement of girls' rights to privacy, dignity, equality, and bodily autonomy.[34]

The government also aims to conduct sexuality education and teach life skills, in line with Uganda's national Sexuality Education Framework.[35] This framework aimed to tackle important aspects of life skills, sexuality education and prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual and gender-based violence. Human Rights Watch notes with concern that the framework does not fully comply with international human rights standards, nor fully adheres to international guidance on comprehensive sexuality education.[36] For example, Human Rights Watch found that teaching guidance overwhelmingly focuses on teaching sexual abstinence, "sexual purity," and "virginity," as well as curricula tied to teaching about "Deviant Sexual Behavior." These are not in line with scientifically accurate information, emerging evidence of the benefit of "sex positive" approaches versus a "sexual risk" perspective, or good practices in talking to children and adolescents about sexual and reproductive rights.[37]

In 2021, the High Court of Uganda directed the Ministry of Education and Sports to develop a comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) policy within two years of the ruling, following a case against the government of Uganda for failure to implement its national Sexuality Education Framework, and a resolution issued by Uganda's Parliament directing the Ministry of Education and Sports to ban the teaching and training of CSE.[38] At time of writing, Uganda's approach to sexuality and reproductive health education, and curriculum, was not fully aligned with UNESCO's International technical guidance on sexuality education.[39] For instance, it includes provisions that encourage stigma against pregnant adolescents by teaching children about "purity and morality" and "virginity" as values that children must aspire to;[40] and by teaching children that "good" relationships are those in which adolescents commit themselves to "sexual purity and sexual abstinence".[41] These provisions contradict guidance provided by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which acknowledges that adolescents often start exploring their sexuality (including though engaging in consensual sexual activity with their peers) before age 18 and states that "[s]exual activity between adolescents is not as such harmful, as long as both adolescents give informed consent and have access to sexual and reproductive information and services."[42]

Human Rights Watch encourages the Committee to call on the government of Uganda to:

• Guarantee universal access to free primary and secondary education of good quality, including by ensuring schools do not charge tuition fees, levy indirect costs, or require family contributions.
• Establish government-funded pre-primary units at every primary school implementing universal primary education. To support the retention of students who are parenting, expand access to early childhood education and childcare support, including prioritizing measures to better link state-administered early childhood care and education centers, including community- and state-managed crèches, to secondary schools.
• Make at least one year of pre-primary education compulsory and free for all children, and make additional years free over time, as expeditiously as possible.
• Immediately increase financial investment in the public education sector, bearing in mind international benchmarks recommending that 15 to 20 percent of national budgets be dedicated to education.
• Amend Section 10, subsection 2 of the Education (Pre-Primary, Primary, and Post Primary) Act of 2008 to obligate the government to fund and implement at least one year of universal pre-primary education.
• Further revise the "Revised Guidelines for the prevention and management of teenage pregnancy in school settings" to guarantee that students who are pregnant, mothers, or married are able to continue their education after giving birth, without impediment or burdensome procedures, and ensure schools are free from stigma and discrimination.
• End pregnancy testing in schools in policy and practice.
• Adopt and teach an age-and-stage appropriate, scientifically accurate comprehensive sexuality education curriculum, that complies with international human rights standards.
• Address financial, procedural, and systemic barriers that inhibit adolescent mothers from continuing their education.

Child Labor (article 32)

In 2021, Human Rights Watch and the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights investigated how the unprecedented economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, together with prolonged school closures and inadequate government assistance, pushed children into exploitative and dangerous child labor.[43] Interviews with 32 children (16 boys and 16 girls) in Kampala, Buikwe, and Moroto districts found that many of the children said they went to work during the pandemic because their families did not have enough food to eat and could not meet their basic needs. When schools closed countrywide, many children also lost access to school meals. Many children said that in addition to helping their family, they also hoped to save money to cover school fees so that they could return to school once they reopened.

The children interviewed worked in gold, marble, and limestone mines; stone quarries; fishing; construction; agriculture; and by selling items on the street, such as masks, biscuits, banana leaves, and brooms. Some children interviewed were already working when the pandemic began, while others began to work for the first time or worked longer hours than before. Nearly half of the children interviewed worked at least 10 hours a day, some for seven days a week. Some worked as many as 16 hours per day. Many of the children were involved in hazardous labor using dangerous tools, carrying heavy loads, or working in extreme heat. Several interviewees said they suffered fatigue, chronic pain, or had been injured while working.

Without exception, the children were paid very little for their labor. Most were paid less than 7,000 shillings per day ($2) despite their long hours. For many, pay was not predictable or reliable, but per piece and at the discretion of their employer. Twenty-one of the 32 children interviewed said their employer refused to pay them at times or cheated them of their pay. For example, a 15-year-old boy who worked in sugarcane fields said that his employer often paid him several days late, and on at least four occasions, refused to pay him at all.

Nearly two-thirds of the children interviewed indicated that their family did not receive any form of Covid-19 relief. Twelve children said that their family received some food assistance-typically maize flour and beans-but that it didn't last long.

Human Rights Watch encourages the Committee to call on the government of Uganda to:

• Ensure national legislation regarding child labor is in line with international standards.

• Enforce child labor standards, including through vigorous monitoring, investigations, and appropriate penalties for violations.