Report: Uganda Has Highest Female Drop-out Rate
A recent United Nations report shows that Uganda has the highest dropout rate in East Africa, with possible reasons being pregnancy, early marriage, costs, and family responsibilities. And because the Ugandan Education System does not allow girls who drop out of primary school to return (although boys are allowed to) these girls are almost always destined for a dismal future. Read more here.
Kenyan Teachers End Strike
After a week-long strike, the Kenya National Union of Teachers called off their strike yesterday, which started after the teachers demanded permanent and pensionable terms. In addition to new pension plans for all teachers, members of the union who went on strike will not be penalized, and the government has promised to come up with a long-term strategy to address the shortage of nearly 75,000 teachers countrywide. Read more here.
Indian Children Contracted HIV from Government-Hospital Blood Transfusions
23 Children with thalassemia (a rare genetic disorder that requires frequent blood transfusions) tested positive for HIV after receiving tainted blood transfusions at a government-run hospital in the Gujarat state. State government spokesman Jai Narayan Vyas stated that he has sent a team of doctors to investigate. The children are all from poor families and were given free blood transufusions because they could not afford them. Full story is over at the Huffington Post.
In Africa’s Universities, Quantity Threatens Quality
Uganda’s Makerere University, one of the continent’s most prestigious higher education institutions, is facing problems because of a shortage of professors and a lack of funds to pay them. Check out The Guardian UK’s article that takes a look at Uganda’s—and many other countries’—crisis: how to fund higher education at public universities and keep up with high academic standards.
