“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
― Robert Orben
Main Prayer Focus of the Week:
- That righteous and just policies and laws will be passed regarding the education sector
- That wicked policies and laws will fail and be removed altogether
- That policymakers and decision makers will craft and enact policies that will create a very favorable environment for education to prosper in Uganda
- That such policies will play a big part in making Uganda a global education destination
- That policies will be enacted that will lead to our academic institutions being once again known world over for high quality education.
- That a spirit of excellence will be imparted upon our people, institutions and country.
OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK’S THEME
Laws and policies create the environment in which we live and work. When they are based on the principles of righteousness and justice they create an environment where good thrives. Policies provide general guidance about the organization’s mission and give specific guidance toward implementing strategies to achieve the organization’s mission. They also provide a mechanism to control the behaviour of the organization. Universal Primary and Secondary education are examples of policies that have helped many countries transform national culture and raise living standards. On the other hand taxation of educational institutions without providing any input has the effect of making education more expensive and thus reducing access to education.
An education system that leans towards University education irrespective of course and course contents has resulted in unemployable graduates who lack marketable skills. This is absurd in a country like Uganda that has many entrepreneurial opportunities. What the youth bring into the economy is largely determined by the education system and the transition from school to work.
Most economists agree that it is the human resources of a nation, not its capital or natural resources that ultimately determine the character and pace of its economic and social development.[1]. In Uganda, the education system is not providing the type of skills and work readiness required by businesses. The market needs skills like literacy, oral communication, information technology, entrepreneurship, analytical, problem-solving and decision making, all of which are unfortunately lacking in the products of our education system. It has been said that if a country fails to develop the skill and knowledge of its people and to utilize them effectively in the national economy, it will be unable to develop anything else[2].
Few countries have risen out of extreme poverty with adult literacy below 80 percent, and few countries have achieved respectable population health outcomes with female literacy below 80 percent. Achieving a high literacy rate requires both good policies and effective governments able and willing to assure the supply of adequate education services at low cost to poor families.
INSTITUTIONS PRAYER FOCUS FOR WEEK TWO
Pray for these institutions using the prayer guidelines in Chapter 1:
- Ministry of Education
- Teaching Service Commission
- Directorate of Education Standards (DES)
- Department of Finance & Administration (F&A)
- Department of Education Planning and Policy Analysis (EPPA)
- Department of Human Resource Management (HRM)
- National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC)
- Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB)
- Teacher Training Colleges
MARKET PLACE FOCUS FOR WEEK TWO
- Nehemiah kept prayed alert and watchful (vs 9, 22,23)
- Pray for the leaders that God is raising in your sector of the market place and for yourself that you will not be lulled into a state of spiritual slumber but rather that you will be alert and watchful.
- Pray that there will be an increased sensitivity to spiritual matters and an understanding that we do not war against flesh and blood.
- Pray that the Lord will expose the schemes of the enemy.
[1]1 (Africa’s Industrialization by David Ssepuuya, p.225)
[2]2 PWC Africa Oil and Gas Review, June 2013 quoted in Africa’s Industrialization by David Ssepuuya, p.233
