Ugandan Students Get Their New Classrooms with the Support of TİKA

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) inaugurated the additional block including 5 classrooms and 2 offices in Nateete Muslim High School in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where education infrastructure and educational opportunities are limited.

The inauguration of the new classrooms at the high school put a smile on the faces of 1200 students who had to study in crowded classrooms under bad conditions.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Republic of Turkey’s Ambassador to Kampala Fikret Kerem Alp, TİKA Uganda Coordinator Yahya Acu, General Manager of Primary and Secondary Education of the Republic of Uganda’s Ministry of Education Mulindwa Ismael, the administration of the school, students, and parents.

In his speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Alp stated that Turkey would continue to support Uganda in the field of education and urged Ugandan students to apply for education grants given by Turkey.

TİKA Coordinator Yahya Acu told the students to “dream big and work hard to achieve them.” He said that the future of Uganda and the world depended on them.

“Our students will study under better conditions”

Noting that the new block at the school was very important for students, Principal of Nateete Muslim High School Bagaala Ahmed Luyirika said, “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to TİKA, the Turkish Government, and the Turkish people for building this block in 3 months and enabling our students to study under better conditions.”

While schooling and enrollment rates are high across Uganda, absenteeism and dropout rates are also high among school-age children due to reasons such as insufficient and substandard physical and technical infrastructure and facilities in schools.

According to the 2017 data from the Ministry of Education and Sports, there are approximately 10 million elementary and high school students in Uganda, which has a population of nearly 40 million. The Ministry of Education aims to improve the infrastructure and quality of schools with its mission of “high-quality education for individual and national development.” Moreover, it expects its development partners to provide support by developing projects and programs on this issue.