NATURE, CAUSES AND MAGNITUDE OF TEACHER ABSENTEEISM IN THE RIGHTS, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT (READ) PROJECT SCHOOLS IN UGANDA Henry Edison Okurut College of Education and External Studies, Makerere University P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda. Tel. No. 0772 472 324 E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected] August , 2012 i TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... v STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ............................................................................................. vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview of teacher absenteeism in Uganda .................................................................................. 1 1.2 The rationale for focus on teacher absenteeism ............................................................................... 2 1.3 The response .................................................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Project profile ................................................................................................................................ 4 1.4.1 Low community participation ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.4.2 Weak school management and governance ................................................................................................. 5 1.4.3 Gender specific barriers .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Purpose of READ project ............................................................................................................... 6 1.6 READ’s implementation strategy and expected results ................................................................... 6 1.7 The problem .................................................................................................................................. 6 1.8 The purpose of the study ................................................................................................................ 7 1.9 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 8 1.10.1 Design and Sampling ................................................................................................................................. 8 1.10.2 Data collection methods and tools ............................................................................................................. 8 1.10.3 Data analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 9 1.11 Significance of the study .............................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY FINDINGS .......................................................................... 10 2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of sampled teachers ................................................................ 10 2.2 Nature, magnitude of teacher absenteeism .................................................................................... 11 2.3 Different forms/variants of teacher absenteeism ........................................................................... 13 2.4 Time-on-task ............................................................................................................................... 14 2.5 Reasons for teacher absenteeism .................................................................................................. 15 2.3.1 Sickness of self and family members ......................................................................................................... 17 2.3.2 Attending burials ........................................................................................................................................ 18 2.3.3 Inadequate school infrastructure including teachers’ houses ..................................................................... 18 2.3.4 Transport problems .................................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.5 Environmental factors (weather, terrain, etc) ............................................................................................. 21 2.3.6 Weak school inspection ............................................................................................................................. 21 2.3.7 Weak community participation .................................................................................................................. 23 2.3.8 Poor pay ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 2.3.9 Lack of lunch at school .............................................................................................................................. 25 2.3.10 Domestic issues ........................................................................................................................................ 25 2.3.11 Other causes of teacher absenteeism ........................................................................................................ 25 2.4 Stakeholder attitudes .................................................................................................................... 26 2.4.1 Contextual information .............................................................................................................................. 26 2.4.2 Teacher attitudes ........................................................................................................................................ 27 2.4.3 Children’s attitudes .................................................................................................................................... 27 2.4.4 Head teacher attitudes ................................................................................................................................ 27 2.4.5 Parents/community members’ attitudes ..................................................................................................... 28 ii 2.4.6 School inspectors’ attitudes ....................................................................................................................... 28 2.4.7 DEOs attitudes ........................................................................................................................................... 30 2.5 Existing local efforts to curb absenteeism ..................................................................................... 31 2.5.1 Involvement of CCTs and “associate assessors” in quality monitoring ..................................................... 31 2.5.2 Joint peer supervision by head teachers ..................................................................................................... 32 2.5.3 Disbursement of funds for school inspection directly to DISs ................................................................... 32 2.5.4 Initiatives undertaken by head teachers ..................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER THREE: RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................... 34 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 34 3.2 School level initiatives ................................................................................................................. 34 3.3 District/Central government level initiatives ................................................................................. 36 3.4 Resource implications of the proposed strategies .......................................................................... 40 ACRONYMS iii ACCU Anti Corruption Coalition Uganda AET Africa Education Trust ANPPCAN African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect ATM Automated Teller Machine BA Build Africa BAU Build Africa Uganda BRMS Basic Requirements Minimum Standards CAO Chief Administrative Officer CBOs Community Based Organizations CCTs Coordinating Center Tutors CDW Community Development Worker CODES Community Driven Education Strategy DEO District Education Officer DES Directorate of Education Standards DfID Department for International Development DHS Demographic and Health Survey DIS District Inspector of Schools DSC District Service Commission EMIS Education Management Information System EQUIP Education Quality Improvement Program EPRC Economic Policy Research Center ESAPR Education