Assessment of the effectiveness of school management committees in pastoral communities: a case study of Bokora county, Moroto District

Abstract

Uganda attaches a lot of importance to effective school management at all levels to ensure provision of quality education that should contribute to national development. The study sought to establish whether School Management Committees (SMC) in pastoral communities performed their mandated roles to effectively manage the schools and if not what could be done to enhance their performance. The research questions and objectives of the study focused on assessing the extent of effectiveness of the SMCs. It explored the contextual factors (socio-cultural, economic, physical, policy guidelines, school inspection and gender balance) that determine the performance of SMCs. It examined the effects of the level of effectiveness of SMCs on pupils learning and suggested possible strategies for enhancing performance of SMCs. The study was cross-sectional and used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Field data was collected from 100 respondents who included SMCs, head teachers, teachers, parents, opinion leaders, education officials and NGOs using questionnaires, FGD guides, interview guides and review of secondary data. The key findings of the study were that; The SMC knew their roles though they mainly performed supervisory role and neglected administrative and consultative roles. This was due to the socio-cultural, economic and physical factors that influenced the performance of the SMC in primary schools. Livestock rearing as a major economic activity limited the participation of members in SMC because livestock rearing is the only reliable means of livelihood in Bokora and Karamoja generally. In order to strengthen the work of SMCs, it was recommended that government increases funding for Education programmes in the region. There is need to have more women participate in SMCs since they did not go to the “kraals” and were always in the “Manyattas”. A comprehensive development plan adequately funded to enable the Karimojong practice modern pastoralism would go along way to impact positively on management of primary schools in Bokora and Karamoja as a whole.