For Karamoja children to access education, it is necessary to Name and Shame parents 

Though Uganda is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that introduced Universal Primary Education in 1997 and Universal Secondary Education in 2007  (Kakuba et al., 2025), an article published in Watchdog News on March 31, 2025 titled “Karamoja Money in the Hands of Young Children” revealed how school age  children in the Karamoja sub region have been left to care for livestock instead of attending school. This practice has left Karamoja behind in terms of access to  education. Education statistics in Karamoja are alarming, with an estimated 88% of the entire population being illiterate and about half of all children and youth, 51%  aged 6–24 years, never having attended school (UBOS, 2017; UNFPA, 2018;  Datzberge, 2022). The 2024 Population and Housing Census shows almost similar  results in Karamoja, with 74.2% of primary aged children out of school  (UBOS,2024). Article 30 of the Ugandan Constitution states that “All persons have  a right to education,” and as per Article 34(2), “A child is entitled to basic education  that shall be the responsibility of the state and parents of the child” (Government of  Uganda, 1995). 

Surprisingly, in Karamoja, a different situation arises. Parents leave their children to  migrate with livestock to Kraals during the drought season, from October to March  the following year, in order to care for the animals. This deprives the children of  access to education. The situation persists during the wet season, from mid-March 

to September, as parentsstill require their children to trek daily to graze the livestock,  thus denying them the education. 

I remember a day during a District Integrity Promotion Forum in Nabilatuk District when the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) expressed his concern about children  not attending school. He said, “NGOs, you help us talk to parents to ensure children

stay in school. We have recruited teachers and we need children for them to teach.” To add to the CAO’s concerns, my message to the people of Karamoja is that  educating children is a crucial tool that can change the image of Karamoja and  improve the region’s status quo. To the stakeholders and Ministry of Education and  sports, in order to reduce the alarming figures of poor school attendance, there is a  need to name and shame the parents who are sending their children to care for  livestock instead of attending school. Naming and shaming are common techniques that can help publicize “bad” behavior, norms, or non-compliance (Schoner, 2024). For example, a team can be formed in Karamoja to document every family whose  child is taking care of livestock instead of attending school, then publicly shame  them or, if possible, hand them over to the authorities for action. It is a known fact  that many interventions have been implemented in Karamoja to retain children in  school, but some parents are not very supportive. Let stakeholders in education in  Karamoja adopt a naming and shaming approach,supported by the government. This  will encourage the parents to ensure that their children stay in school. 

Ayub Mukisa (PhD) 

Executive Director. Karamoja Anti Corruption Coalition (KACC) Email: ayubmukisa@gmail.com