Minimum requirements for implementing education policies in private primary schools in kira town council in wakiso district

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of education policy by private primary schools in Kira Town Council in Wakiso District. It was guided by the following objectives. To establish the extent to which private primary schools meet the minimum requirements for operating; to examine the factors affecting the implementation of education policies; to assess the proprietors' perception about the education policy and to establish community perception about the contribution of private primary schools. Participants were drawn from selected private primary schools and their communities which included 306 pupils out of 1500, 186 teachers out of 350, 44 Headteachers out of 50, 44 school proprietors out of 50, 2 education officials out of 2 and 36 community leaders out of 40. Data was collected using a combination of several instruments, which included questionnaires, interviews, observations and documents. The cross-sectional design which included both qualitative and quantitative methods was used. The major findings include: • The Ministry of Education has clearly stipulated basic requirements and minimum standards which must be followed to establish schools. • Most private primary schools mainly meet pedagogical and resource requirements and very few meet co-curricular requirements. • The mushrooming private primary schools have been due to the need to provide quality education and the increase in the number of pre-primary leavers. • Major factors affecting the implementation of education policy include lack of finance, inadequate incentives and rigidity of school proprietors. • The basic strategies to improve the implementation of the policy would include government facilitation, improved supervision and offering tax incentives.