Photo: Water collectors at Namwaya Primary School in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo.

Guest blog: the effects of drought on primary education in eastern Uganda

Photo: Water collectors at Namwaya Primary School in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo.

Primary schools and educators in eastern Uganda have been deeply affected by regional droughts. Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools, especially those in rural areas, have seen their access to water sources undermined and alarming deterioration in public health. In extreme cases malnutrition and disease, each reinforcing the other, have claimed the lives of schoolchildren and adults (World Bank 2017).

In recent years recurrent episodes of extreme aridity and drought across Eastern Africa have threatened the livelihoods of rural communities and placed increasing pressures on traditional coping mechanisms. Experts warn droughts in the region are becoming increasingly frequent and more devastating given the combined forces of climate change, regional conflicts and forced migrations (UN International Fund for Agricultural Development).

In Uganda’s eastern district of Tororo, farmlands are again arid and rural peoples especially are being threatened by water scarcity and depleted agricultural output. Locals report pastoralists are struggling to generate incomes as cattle are failing to eat and no longer producing milk, and people are lining up for hours to collect water given many communal wells have dried up.

Communal well in Palasi zone in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo
Photo: Communal well in Palasi zone in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo

These conditions are familiar for communities in eastern Uganda. During the 8 month period following August 2016, severe rainfall deficiency was reported to have led to acute water shortages and food insecurity across Tororo district. Seasonal rains are typically expected from August through to December in eastern Uganda. Lack of rain and persisting drought conditions during the August 2016 – March 2017 period led to limited crop production and the widespread drying of communal water sources, limiting the availability of water for both human and livestock consumption.

Few rural UPE schools in Tororo district have dedicated access to water on site. Standard procedure is to send daily parties of pupils to collect water from communal boreholes, which can be substantial distances from the school compounds. Pupils burdened with water collection duties routinely miss lessons, adding to already high rates of absenteeism among children in primary education. In drought conditions reduced groundwater levels cause many communal boreholes to dry up. As a consequence, means of accessing water for drinking, food preparation and washing become increasingly difficult. Parties of primary pupils tasked with water collection travel further in search of accessible water sources. Many resort to collecting contaminated water and return with only a fraction of the schools needed supply.

Former area Councillor for Namwaya parish, Annie Beatrice Okumu, reported “children here have been traveling over 3km from the school to the borehole at Busitema University, which was taking them almost 1.5 hours to and from during the rainy reason. But during drought, pupils can stay at the borehole for over 5 hours lining up for water.”

Photo: Water collectors at Namwaya Primary School in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo.
Photo: Water collectors at Namwaya Primary School in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo.

                                            

Acute water shortages and food insecurity have predictably serious impact on the health and well-being of primary pupils, parents and teachers. Lack of water for drinking in schools leads quickly to dangerous levels of dehydration among pupils and staff, and increased tendency to resort to contaminated water increases exposure to waterborne diseases which cause diarrhoea. Diarrhoea causes rapid loss of water and electrolytes from the body, which can result in fluid-electrolyte malnutrition (FEM), the consequences of which are potentially fatal in drought-affected communities where water is scarce and medical treatment is often difficult to access. Water is also needed to clean school latrines and for hand washing. Schools often therefore experience serious deteriorations in standards of hygiene during periods of water scarcity, which further exacerbates their vulnerability to local outbreaks of disease.

During the August 2016 – March 2017 period, rainfall deficiency in Tororo district led to limited crop production and loss of pastoral resources, resulting in chronic food shortages. Reports of acute malnutrition and families going without food for several days are widespread. Primary teachers across the district account that under drought conditions pupils’ academic performance was seriously affected, as many primary learners were suffering from dehydration and malnutrition and unable to concentrate in class. Absenteeism and educational drop out among primary learners also grew as a result of increasing domestic pressures, as many were forced many home to support their families by searching for water or helping with agricultural work.

Water is also essential for food preparation, notably for reducing the toxicity of drought-resistant cassava cultivars, which are used widely in Tororo district due to their low requirement for nutrients, ability to tolerate arid conditions and easy low-cost propagation. Cassava contains a number of harmful bioactive products, and drought-resistant cultivars in particular contain high concentrations of cyanogenic glycosides, which breakdown to release toxic hydrogen cyanide gas as they enter the human digestive system. Just as in countless other communities across the world, Ugandan producers use a variety of traditional processing methods to extract cyanogens from cassava – such as sun-drying, soaking and fermenting – which make the crop suitable for human consumption. During drought increased water scarcity prohibits local processing means, which can lead to increased consumption of unprocessed cassava products and their proliferation in markets and subsistence agriculture.

Accounts of severe health problems and death as a result of eating ‘bad cassava’ during the August 2016 – March 2017 drought are widespread among local teachers, parents and primary pupils in Tororo district. Many describe acute intoxication symptoms such as severe fatigue, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting within hours of consuming unprocessed cassava products. Those with means of transport were able to take victims to receive treatment at Tororo General Hospital. In other cases people died. One of the local teachers from Mulanda sub-county, Joseph, reported “many people lost their lives …even me I lost about three of my relatives.”

Primary school children have been affected on all fronts. Drought-affected communities have struggled to mobilise assets in support of local primary education. The additional challenges imposed by drought on rural livelihoods have only exacerbated serious and familiar barriers to attainment in primary education. Teachers and pupils alike have struggled to perform given high incidences of exhaustion induced by acute malnutrition, dehydration and related conditions. Death of one or both parents due to drought during the August 2016 – March 2017 episode has also introduced huge domestic responsibilities to many young learners in eastern Uganda, which often implies sacrificing their education.

In February 2017, UNOCHA  warned that repeat episodes of drought across Eastern Africa have critically limited communities’ capacity to cope with further shocks. Many households have been forced to divert human and material assets away from productive investments that may have otherwise provided some future defense. In Tororo district, UPE schools remain ill-equipped in terms of their basic infrastructure, including access to safe drinking water. Although recent governmental initiatives have extended pipe water into some rural areas, local mains connection is an unaffordable luxury for the rural majority, and most continue to rely on communal boreholes. While resources in education remain chronically limited and environmental threats continue to undermine and endanger the livelihoods of communities in eastern Uganda, the precariousness of education will no doubt continue. There is therefore a need for a more concerted level of proactive efforts to find sustainable solutions.

Will Knapman is a Programme Director for the charity Talk Education Partnership that works to improve the standards of education in Eastern Uganda. For more details: Talk Education Partnership

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