Mobile alternative education in Karamoja

As an alternative to address the education gaps in pastoralist areas of Uganda, Save the Children initiated an Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) programme. An evaluation was made of this mobile learning arrangement to address the specific needs of mobile pastoralist communities so that children would have access to basic education.

Some findings in the report “Evaluation of the Mobile Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) Program” (2011, 59pp) include:

• The mobile ABEK was relevant not only to children but also to communities and district local governments. It addressed the need for education while not compromising the role that children play in their families. Its key strength lies in its relevance to the nomadic pastoral lifestyle, harsh climate, incessant insecurity/ conflict and the traditional social-lifestyle of the local people.
• Skills learnt were relevant to deal with the day-to-day environmental challenges of the Karamoja.
• The system still registered low levels of literacy and numeracy achieved by the learners.
• Teachers within formal schools (to which these children were eventually transferred) regarded ABEK children as more active than the rest.
• The community supported the mobile ABEK.

Several recommendations are made to improve the mobile component of the basic education programme in Karamoja.

Posted on 3 October 2016 in Pastoralism & Services