UNIVERSAL; SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
Universal Secondary Education (USE) is a policy issue that is currently receiving much attention in circles of international development and education.
Attention to the USE policy can be traced to the international commitment made to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the goals of Education for All (EFA). Although the MDGs and EFA set targets that specifically pertain to primary education, the evolution of educational systems in response to the MDG and EFA educational targets have also influenced the post-primary education sectors in many countries.
The MDGs were originally developed in 1990 and then formally adopted by 189 countries in 2000. The overarching goal of the MDGs is to eliminate extreme poverty by 2015 (UNDP, 2006). The MDGs are very influential in determining how countries set and plan to reach educational targets, specifically those relating to primary education enrollment and completion. Much educational target setting in the developing world, following the creation of the MDGs and the original goals of EFA, has focused on achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE).
One of the goals of EFA is that by 2015 all children have access to free primary education.
As of 2005, it was estimated that as much as 70 percent of the education budget in countries that signed the MDGs had been allotted for primary school (Lewin, 2005).
The educational focus has slowly shifted from primary completion to post-primary quality and enrollment in many MDG-signing countries. As more and more children enrolled in and completed primary school, as a result of initiatives supporting the MDGs and EFA, international educational targets switched from universal primary education to universal secondary education. Investment in secondary education allows for greater economic growth, while also providing a means to sustain the gains provided by UPE (Lewin, 2005). Students who have completed post-primary school are more likely to be employed in the formal wage sector, and those working in the informal sector are more productive than their peers who did not attend secondary school (Liang, 2002).
Cuba
Cuba is a Caribbean island nation under communist rule. It has sugar-white beaches and is dotted with tobacco fields, which play a part in the production of the country’s legendary cigars.
The capital city of Cuba is Havana.
Economic and governance
Cuba has a planned economy dominated by state-run enterprises. Most industries are owned and operated by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party encouraged the formation of worker co-operatives and self-employment. In the year 2000, public sector employment was 76% and private sector employment, mainly composed of self-employment, was 23% compared to the 1981 ratio of 91% to 8%. Investment is restricted and requires approval by the government. The government sets most prices and rations goods to citizens. In 2016, Cuba ranked 68th out of 182 countries with a Human Development Index of 0.775, much higher than its GDP per capita rank (95th). In 2012, the country’s public debt was 35.3% of GDP, inflation (CDP) was 5.5%, and GDP growth was 3%. Housing and transportation costs are low. Cubans receive free education, health care and food subsidies.
The Cuban economy grew rapidly between 2001 and 2007. During this period the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an average of 7.5% per year at the constant prices of the base year 1997. From 2001 to 2003, however, it grew at an annual rate of just 2.9%, while between 2004 and 2007 GDP grew at a yearly average of 9.3%.This difference was partially due to a new methodology for calculating GDP and also to very favorable growth in the export of professional services in the latter period. In 2008 and 2009, however, a significant deceleration of the pace of economic growth took place that alerted the government in 2009 to the fact that it was necessary to outline a new program of economic adjustment, with a new consideration for the population’s well-being.
EDUCATION
UNESCO points out that literacy is also seen as a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. It is fully essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives. With regard to individuals, families, and societies, it is an instrument of empowerment to improve one’s health, one’s income, and one’s relationship with the world.
The actual picture of global illiteracy is quit scary as we start thinking of the increasing demand of knowledge the world is experiencing right now (Scribner 1984).
Cuba as many other Latin-American countries is structured by a long history of colonialism and struggle, neo-colonialism, extreme poverty and number of political and social transformations.
The current political system in the island has long received strong criticism for its totalitarian style, which many human right activists define as one of the longest lasting tyrannies of modern times, I wish to add that such statement could be very debatable, but even though that may be the case it is been acknowledged that the records Cuba Presents in the fields of education and health Care impressive.
Education and the Cuban state are dependent on each other as major influences on social transformations. In Cuba and elsewhere in the world, education is a crucial instrument used by all societies for implanting ideas and beliefs in their members. I wish to cite Carnoy here when wrote: “Education is they way to all things” (Carnoy and Samoff 1990 p 162)
That education has a socializing function in every society is accepted wisdom. What socialization means in the conditions of revolutionary change in Cuba is a crucial and more controversial matter. Competing conclusions about values, social practices, and the creation of “new socialist people” suggest different positions on the purposeful use of education as an agent of change.
EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN CUBA
The Cuban education system has performed most satisfactorily on other conventional measures as well. According to official data, for example, 98% of Cuban children of the appropriate age attended pre-school in 1997-98. The enrollment rate for 6 to 16-year olds was 94.2%, and primary school gross enrollment exceeded 100%. Repetition rates were 1.9 % in primary school, 2.8% in secondary and 1,8% in pre-university school. Age-grade distortion was about 2.5% in primary, 3.7% in basic secondary and 0.9% in pre-university.[i] In the mid-1990s there were 241,000 illiterates, out of a population of 11 million. In 1959, in stark comparison, half of Cuba’s children did not attend school at all, 72% of 13 to 19 year olds failed to reach intermediate levels of schooling, and there were over one million illiterates.
Cuba’s schools have been remarkably successful in achieving gender equity, reaching rural and disadvantaged populations, and fostering community participation, even in the context of rapidly dwindling resources. Cuba is a poor country, and the past decade has been particularly difficult economically. Yet the success of its schools flaunts conventional wisdom: Education in Cuba is entirely public, centrally planned, and free, in a global reform environment of privatization, downscaling of the state role, and cost recovery.
Sustained Investments in Education
High levels of investment. Cuba devotes about 10% to 11% of its GDP to education, a very high percentage compared with the rest of the region[ii] or with the 6% recommended as adequate by UNESCO. Of course, the size of GDP allocated to education alone is insufficient to define an effective education system.
High levels of non-salary expenditures. Cuba has invested substantial resources in non-salary items. Until March 1999, 60 % of the Education budget was devoted to teachers’ salaries with the remaining 40% for non-salary items used to support instruction. Both of these policies correspond to current understandings of best practices in education finance. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to maintain such a high percentage of expenditures on non-salary items. In March 1999, teachers received a 30% salary increase, a move that decreases the resources available for non–salary costs. Teacher motivation and retention are also threatened by decreases in the purchasing power of salaries and the attractiveness of new professional activities, especially in tourism and in foreign firms, as evidenced by teacher attrition of 4-8% per year in the eastern oriental provinces, where tourism is more developed.
Sustained and coordinated investments. Investments in education need to be sustained over a long period of time to achieve maximum results. Greater investments or allocation of resources to education as an isolated strategy do not necessarily bring better educational results.
Consistent Policy Environment, Supportive of Quality Basic Education
As in many other socialist countries, the Marxist-Leninist philosophy of praxis inspires the objectives of the education system of educating a “New Human Being,” to: assume its most basic social duties, to educate this being to produce material and spirituals goods that will serve society in a way that every human being participates in material production, in order to eliminate the contradiction among school and society, producer and consumers, intellectual work and physical work, and among cities and rural areas.
Clear objectives. These objectives were set, of course, by the same party that has run the country for almost 40 years. Continuity of educational policy and strategy–quite unusual in most countries of the region–has contributed to the achievement of goals set by party and government. The different components of the education system are articulated around common objectives, subject to constant evaluation with the participation of the broader educational community, and centered in the classroom.
Stability. In many Latin American countries, frequent political changes may impede the development and consolidation of educational strategies and achievements. The Cuban experience suggests that measures are needed to protect the education system from the disruptive effects of continuous changes in strategies and plans. Education is a long-term investment requiring consistent policies and political stability to grow. This stability, however, was achieved at the cost of one-party rule.
Professional High-Status Teachers & On-Going Professional Development
Life-long training. Teacher training is a life-long process including training on the job as well as formal and informal training. Its major aim is to support teachers to improve classroom practice. Fifteen higher education pedagogical institutes (HPI, institutos pedagogicos superiores) and the pedagogical faculties provide formal preparation of teachers for day-care centers, primary schools, and intermediate schools. HPIs offer formal daytime courses for pre-university graduates and mid-level graduates of technical and vocational schools. Pre-service courses consist of five years of training, while in-service courses last six years. Training for school directors is provided at the same time as teacher training, so that directors will understand the teacher development process.
School-based. Pre- and in-service teacher preparation emphasizes basic knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. There is a balance of didactics, pedagogy and subject matter knowledge. Teachers’ professional development is characterized by a strong linkage between theory and practice during both pre- and in-service teacher phases. Both pre- and in-service teacher training are school based, to foster greater relevance of teacher training to school and student needs and to link training institutions and schools. To reduce the distance between academic teacher training and schools, a teacher trainer candidate must complete as a pre-requisite a significant number of years (usually 6 to 7) as a teacher at the level at which he or she intends to prepare teachers.
Low-cost, high quality instructional materials
Nationwide coverage and care. The Cuban state has a monopoly on all aspects of production of educational materials–design, publishing, and distribution. As a consequence, the state says, it is able to keep costs low, address the learning needs of the poor, and distribute all educational materials free. Before the Periodo Especial, about 25 million books were produced each year. In 1976, bookstores and schools were full of low-cost high quality textbooks and books of every kind. Books were offered free or at very low cost to countries with which Cuba was cooperating, i.e., Angola and Mozambique. However, the austerities accompanying the Periodo Especial have strongly cut back the production and distribution of textbooks. To deal with these shortages, schools works hard to maintain books in good condition. Most of the books currently in use were published around 1992. Students continually rebind books and repair other learning equipment and school furniture as part of their weekly “labor education” (educacion laboral). Exercise books are often used several times: students write with a pencil and when they complete the exercises, erase the book for reuse. Thus in Cuba, teacher and student initiative and creativity appear to compensate, at least partially, for the lack of resources.
Nationwide coverage, local adaptation and development. National curricula (see Annex 4) are subject to continuous reform and adaptation to local realities. In addition, the school calendar varies according to local production schedules. These measures allow for both unified educational standards and respect for local diversity. Teachers and students take an active role in examining the learning environment and adapting the curriculum to learning needs. Classroom observations suggest that teachers have great latitude in choosing the means to implement the curriculum. Teachers went to great lengths to prepare instructional materials and utilize them actively as integral parts of their teaching. In Cuba, teacher and student initiative and creativity appear to compensate, in part, for the lack of resources. When resources are scarce, teacher motivation and creativity in the use of external inputs act as major inputs and determinants of learning achievement. Indeed, instructional inputs, however sophisticated, have no instructional value unless used by teachers and students.
At the same time, there is substantial evidence of the closed nature of Cuban education. Basic Western authors such as Montessori, Dewey, Piaget, Bloom, etc. are generally ignored, and when they are considered, they are usually critiqued. The pedagogical institutes place a great deal of emphasis on the educational research and tradition of Cuba and Latin American authors such as Marti and Bolivar and on thinkers from the former USSR, Vigotsky, Lurija, Makarenko, Gorki, and many others. Similarly, social science curricula have been overshadowed by four decades of Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy.
UGANDA
Uganda, with a total population of 37 million people, is a land locked country located in the eastern part of the African continent, totalling to a surface area of 241,039 sq/km. It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Tanzania to the south, Rwanda to the southwest and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. The landlocked nature makes Uganda economically dependent on her neighbours’ coastal ports thereby accounting to the high fuel prices and the comparably high cost of living. This directly and indirectly impacts on the national investment in education. The main economic activity of Uganda is agriculture, particularly coffee.
A former British colony, Uganda attained its independence on the 9th October 1962, and since then, it has witnessed dramatic changes in its political system. The changes in political policies were accompanied by changes in socio- economic policy framework.
However the political turmoil of 1971-1985 negatively impacted on the Ugandan economy leading to a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), decline in agricultural and industrial output, a deterioration in export performance, high rates of inflation, wide spread poverty and poor health services.
In Uganda, investment in education has been prioritised in the last 2 decades because it is hoped to facilitate reform in other sectors after a long period of civil strife. Education is expected to contribute to the accumulation of human capital, which is essential for higher
incomes and sustained income growth (MoFPED 2004). There has been extensive expansion of the education system in order to make it accessible to the larger population. With the introduction of Universal primary education in 1997, primary education is now accessible to at least 86% of the school going age children (MoES 2005a), and with the introduction of Universal Secondary Education in 2007, it is hoped that the majority of the children in Uganda will be able to access the full cycle of primary and secondary education. This is a huge investment as education is linked to children’s survival, and secondary education is associated with smaller family size.
UGANDA EDUCATION SYSTEMS
Uganda is currently implementing a new policy of Universal secondary Education (USE). USE has two goals: to bring more students into the secondary school system and to increase the quality of secondary education. Uganda is the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to undertake a policy of universal secondary education, and the policy has attracted the attention of the international community. Although ample that educational policies require the support of teachers to be successful, the USE policy was enacted without the input of the nation‟s teachers. If the USE policy does not have the support of the nation‟s teachers who affect the quality of the education the students receive, it
Even though teachers are essential to the success of educational reforms in Uganda, the experiences and concerns of the teachers in USE schools were not systematically addressed. The opinions of head teachers, however, are known and indicate that the policy may be negatively affecting those working in schools. A study conducted by Chapman, Burton, and Werner (2010) found that head teachers in secondary schools supported the goals of the policy, but were not satisfied with the way the policy had been implemented. Head teachers indicated they were concerned that schools lacked the resources necessary to accommodate the large wave of children who were enrolling. Additionally, they stated that a lack of training opportunities for themselves and the teachers, and school overcrowding were problems associated with the reform.
Uganda is the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to institute a policy of universal secondary education. If the policy is deemed successful, it may serve as a model for other countries that are considering implementing similar policies. At this time, the policy has been in effect for four years, giving teachers the opportunity to settle into their positions as teachers in USE schools and adapt their practice to accommodate the changes imposed by the policy.
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE
Under the secondary scheme, students who get specific grades in each of the four primary school-leaving exams study free in public schools and participating private schools. The government pays the schools an annual grant of up to UShs 141,000 ($52) per student, spread over three school terms. Parents, though, have to provide the students’ uniform, stationery and meals.
ENROLLMENT IN UGANDA
Uganda is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where try to improve not only primary school education but also secondary school education. Uganda started their free universal primary education (UPE) policy in 1997.Since then primary school tuition has been free in government schools. In 2007, Uganda government started the free universal secondary education (USE) policy which was the first in all Sub-Saharan nations.
According to the ministry of education in Uganda, parents are free to send their students to any secondary school around the country. Also parents may send their children to other secondary schools that do not take part USE policy if they can afford to pay the fees. Although students are free of paying tuition fees in USE schools, they still have to pay boarding fees, scholastic materials, medical care etc.
Since this USE policy is relatively new policy, not many surveys or researches have been done evaluating the impacts of the policy. According to ministry of education in Uganda, there are more than half a million secondary school children who are studying under the USE policy in some 1471 schools. This is avast improvement in terms of access to secondary schools.
There were 3,149 secondary schools (949 Government Aided and 2,200 Non Government) .Overall enrolment in all secondary schools was of 1,194,454 students (648,014 male and 546,440 female). While government aided schools had a composition of 550,633 (311,936 male and 238,695 female) students.
[i] Annex 3 presents data provided by the Cuban Ministry of Education to participants in the Study Tour.
[ii] Ministry of Education, Cuba Organization of Education, 1994-6. Report of the Republic of Cuba to the 45the International Conference on Public Education” Havana 1996 p.1.
