Field Research in Uganda (Kohei Uno)
From 2023 October 9th to November 8th, I conducted field research in Uganda with the support of Associate Professor James Wokadala and his research assistant at Makerere University. Field research...
From August 30th to October 4th, 2017, I conducted an internship at Makerere University in Uganda. As a participant in the Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa (GLTP), I could conduct this internship thanks to the support of United Nations University (UNU).
During the internship, under the supervision of Dr. James Wokadala, former doctoral student of Professor Ogawa Seminar and now senior lecturer at Makerere University, I carried out the following four main activities: (1) understanding the current situation and problems of education in Uganda; (2) collection and review of the papers regarding education policy by visiting the Ministry of Education and Sports and Office of the Prime Minister; (3) deepening the understanding regarding Ugandan educational support from international organizations and NGOs by visiting these organizations; and (4) presentations at Makerere University.
For the first activity, I reviewed papers among which the “National Development Plan 2015/16-2019/20”, the “Education Sector Strategic Plan 2004-2015”, and the “Education Policy Overview in Uganda” which was provided by Dr. James Wokadala. This was very useful to learn about education policy in Uganda.
For the second activity, I visited the Statistics Section in the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Monitoring and Evaluation Department and Department of Refugees in Office of the Prime Minister. I interviewed officers working there. Additionally, I obtained an introduction letter from Dr. Albert Byamugisha, former doctoral student of Professor Ogawa Seminar and now an adviser of the Office of the Prime Minister, which made my field research in the refugee settlement greatly smooth.
For the third activity, I conducted field research to evaluate the current situation on education matters for South Sudanese refugee pupils living in Uganda. I targeted Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement located in Yumbe District. This settlement is now reported to be the largest refugee settlement in the world. I interviewed education officers in UNHCR and NGOs including Save the Children, Windle Trust, and AAR Japan. I visited three community schools and one government school in the refugee settlement and surveyed head teachers, teachers, and pupils there. Moreover, I visited households to interview parents.
For the fourth activity, I shared the activities I did in Uganda with professors and students at Makerere University through a presentation. I received a lot of valuable advice and comments which will be utilized to improve my research.
In conclusion, I learned a lot about the role of the Ministry of Education and Sports and Office of the Prime Minister through the instruction provided by my supervisor, Dr. James Wokadala. And not only the government, I could visit international organizations and NGOs which provide supports to the education sector in Uganda. I obtained useful information for my research and suggestion for my career after graduation from GSICS, Kobe University.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my academic adviser, Professor Keiichi Ogawa, who gave me this precious internship opportunity, and my supervisor at Makerere University, Dr. James Wokadala, who gave me a lot of support throughout the internship. My appreciation also goes to GLTP Secretariat in United Nations University, which provided me with academic and financial support. Also, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Katsuki Sakaue, former doctoral student of Professor Ogawa Seminar, who kindly gave me a lot of advice and officers in the Ministry of Education and Sports, Office of the Prime Minister, UNHCR, Save the Children, Windle Trust, and AAR Japan.
Authored by Kenta Miyamoto (Master’s Student)
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Internship Photos
