CEED Concordia is pleased to announce that we are one of the 10 small and medium organizations selected by the Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT) from across Canada! CEED was selected to deliver a project that aims to advance gender equality in education in Uganda in partnership with the organizations Canadian Institute of Mass Communication (CIMC), Action for Development (ACFODE) and Kabale University in Kabale, Uganda.
The aim of this project is to put in place a cost-effective, decentralized e-learning platform that will give women teachers in Uganda the opportunity to continue their education and upgrade their qualifications.
CEED CEO Hawa Keita explains why our organisation is interested in this cause and why it was selected by FIT for funding:
“CEED’s commitment to preventing the loss of female teachers in Uganda is a commitment to gender parity in Uganda. By helping women to pursue their education, by helping them become accredited teachers, we are helping women to lead financially independent lives as well as increase the household income in rural communities.”
She adds, “its also important to note that a strong representation of women in the field of education results in a curriculum that is generally less patriarchal.”
This development project is in response to the Uganda National Teacher Policy (NTP) enacted in October 2019. While the purpose of this policy is to standardize the teaching profession and improve the overall quality of education in Uganda, it’s detrimental to female teachers who face many barriers to acquire the minimum educational qualifications to continue teaching. The barriers for women to receive qualifications has only been made worse since the Covid-19 pandemic. In Southwestern Uganda alone, 6223 female teachers are at risk of losing their jobs by 2029.
This initiative plans to target 650 women from six districts in Southern Uganda, the Districts of Kabale, Kanungu, Isingiro, Rubanda, Kasese and Kisoro, which have not yet enrolled in accreditation training. Women from these regions will have access to study material that can be delivered digitally through Primary Teachers Colleges that are present in these regions and who have agreements with Kabale University.