SOCIAL MOBILITY & EDUCATION: THE CASE OF UGANDA

Background Social Mobility is defined by Encyclopædia Britannica as “movement of individuals, families, or groups through a system of social hierarchy or stratification.” The World Economic Forum (WEF), recently released a report titled “The Global Social Mobility Report 2020. Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative.”

What becomes apparent after reading the report, is that high levels of income inequality and corruption, suffocate/worsen the possibility of some people born at the bottom of the social strata to rise through the ranks to the top echerons of society.

An important phenomenon, lock-in from birth is discussed. It surmises that an individual’s chances in life are determined by their starting point (socio-economic status at birth, where they were born, etc.). “Across most socio-economic systems today - a person’s background often predetermines the level of education they will attain, the type of work they will do and the level of income they will earn. This lock-in from birth has consequences for growth, cohesion and innovation.”(WEF 2020, pg. 8).

While this report largely focused on developed countries and some formidable emerging markets including South Africa, LMICs like Uganda are not inexcusable when it comes to corruption and income inequality. I am not aware whether or not there’s work being done by scholars to establish what social mobility index would mean for a society and political system like Uganda.

Case for Uganda Uganda’s score as regards the Human Capital Index component is one the lowest amongst the comparator countries and below the sub-Saharan average. In Sub-Saharan, Uganda is ranked among the countries in the lowest quartile of the Human Capital Index (HCI). Uganda Economic Update pg. viii

With the ratification of AfFCTA and porous borders (goods, services and people), Uganda’s population is not generally well grounded to take advantage of such a development. The new curriculum proposed also further alienates Ugandans from the mainstream education systems.

Given the levels of corruption where Uganda scored 28 points out of 100 on the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International, an (Early Childhood Development) ECD system where the state in thinly involved, Uganda’s children born from unfortunate backgrounds are technically left behind at birth.

Why education matters “Education is a powerful ‘equalizer’ of chances. Ensuring that individuals have equal opportunities to access the best schools is essential to reviving social mobility.” (World Economic Forum, 2020, pg. 6)

While several academics aver that early childhood education can yield significantly, higher return on investment later in life, Uganda’s ECD sector has been largely left in the hands of private sector, which leaves it unaffordable for most Ugandans. And without a regulatory authority, the quality of ECD education goes largely less monitored and coordinated.

Lock-in from birth If the concept of lock in from birth affects the Nordic countries, it is not farfetched to imagine its impact on Uganda, especially in view of quality of education, corruption and income inequality. NRM's government fight against poverty (an underlying denominator for the "lock-in from birth" phenomenon) has a long history as Kuteesa, F., Tumusiime-Mutebile, E., Whitworth, A., & Williamson, T. (Eds.). (2010) postulate "Following President Museveni’s key speech in 1995 at a forum on poverty, MoFEP began preparation of the first Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). This would be later on revised in 2000 and 2004, to set out a comprehensive strategy for eradicating mass poverty in Uganda by the year 2017". Uganda’s economic reforms - insider accounts pg. 45. While these efforts have achieved some results, overtime human capital development has not been prioritized as should be. This implies that the multiplier benefits of an educated population are stifled as well captured in the following quote by a 2018 World Bank Group: Learning to realise Education’s Promise 2018 report "After many years in school, many leave without the skills for calculating the correct change from a transaction, reading a doctor’s instruction or interpreting a campaign promise – later on building a fulfilling career or educating their own children."

A 2018 World Bank Group: Learning to realise Education’s Promise 2018 reports that “At least 80 per cent of pupils in Primary Two in Uganda cannot perform a two-digit subtraction, whereas 61 per cent cannot read a single word of a short sentence”. Contrasted against another finding that “Millions of children reach young adulthood without even the most basic life skills. ”. This quote illustrates a classic case of a vicious cycle of an “absolute mobility” uphill task.

Uganda has largely been investing in infrastructure projects, often leaving human capital development largely underfunded, an imbalance that has been highlighted by several authors including Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) Martin Luther Munu and Sheila Depio's article "Why Uganda should strike a balance between Infrastructure and Human capital development" via https://www.eprcug.org/research/education-health/467-undp-and-eprc.

Uganda’s 2019 Economic update reports that , “A child born in Uganda today will only be 38% percent as productive, when she grows up as she could be, if she enjoyed complete education and full health.” What the above findings imply for Uganda in a broader perspective of East African Community and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), remain to be explored. But what cannot be contested, is the quality of population our underfunded education will churns out.

Politics and their goldmine_ the Youth Politicians and other leaders are quick to point out that Uganda is largely comprised of young people, which is an African phenomenon by extension anyway. What is normally not highlighted however, is the quality of the young people’s education and skill-set. Uganda has the world's youngest population with over 78 percent of its population below the age of 30 https://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/uganda/

Most experts have argued that Africa’s youthful population is a double aged sword. Either Africa skills her young people or face a back-breaking pressure of dealing with an army of unemployed youths. Given the low scores on HCI, high levels on unemployment and mismatch between imparted skills and market place required skill-set, the future seems bleak, which when left unresolved, spells a catastrophe of huge proportions.

References 1. The World Bank. (2019). Uganda Economic Update, 13th Edition economic development and human capital in Uganda: a case for investing more in education. 2. The World Bank. (2018). Learning to realize education’s promise. 3. World Economic Forum. (2020). The Global Social Mobility Report 2020; Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative. 4. Kuteesa, F., Tumusiime-Mutebile, E., Whitworth, A., & Williamson, T. (Eds.). (2010). Uganda's economic reforms: insider accounts. Oxford University Press.