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Ending Violence against Children in Ugandan Schools

This is a featured blog post by former OU student Mim Friday. Currently based in Uganda, Mim works for the International Children's Charity, Viva, and holds an MSc in Development Management with The Open University.

What does beating a child achieve? Fear, resentment, anger and violence? Probably. Understanding, persistence, creativity and breadth of knowledge? Probably not.

I have been working in a cross-cultural setting for the past eleven years. Every morning I report to work with 49 Ugandans in the heart of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. Only one of my Ugandan colleagues was never beaten in school – and only then because she had the guts to walk out when the teacher picked up the cane. Others remember electric wires, chains and planks of wood that they’d try and cushion themselves against by wearing four or five layers. That’s why it’s now my and my colleagues’ desire to stop this child abuse and ensure that Uganda’s children can thrive.

I have to admit that in the beginning, deciding to study a Masters in Development Management with The Open University was as much to tick a box on funding applications I was writing as it was to learn. The first module I studied immediately opened my eyes to the historical setting I was working in; I was seeking to come alongside Ugandans to promote child safeguarding and to advise and support the development of local partners. The module helped me to identify the challenges of being a British boss in a former British colony. October 1962 was the last time the British flag was raised in Uganda, after 70 years of colonial rule. My first two modules on the course – ‘Capacities for Managing Development’ and ‘Institutional Development’ – gave me a historical understanding of the lingering challenges from that rule. For, as much as I see the tightrope the British High Commission has to walk in encouraging appropriate development today, the hegemonic influence of global powers and the power of the dollar cannot be missed.

Once I had gained this more nuanced understanding of the forces that shape my day-to-day relationships with my Ugandan hosts, I began to frame my OU studies around my daily task of striving to see children raised in safe homes, communities and schools. The ‘Education for Development’ module painted the picture of a global ambition to provide quality primary education for all. However, while the goal is commendable its – unintended – consequences in a rapidly growing population are huge class sizes and limited access to well-trained teachers.

Tackling assignments that asked me to develop strategies for addressing teacher supply, education and training in sub-Saharan Africa, the use of educational technology in rural Uganda, and developing a long-term strategy for basic education in times of conflict, broadened my perspective and stretched my thinking.

As I continued my studies, I also became increasingly aware that my colleagues were demonstrating courageous resilience by arriving at work every day with a fresh smile and a deep determination to work together to prod and urge and fight for institutional change. They desperately want their children to be raised in violence-free schools and communities. The OU learning environment helped suggest new ways that they might drive this change. ‘Thinking Strategically: Systems Tools for Managing Change' gave a fascinating balance between some very structured methods and the People Stream and was formative in understanding the importance of mixing hard and soft strategies to help people drive the changes they want.

Knowledge is power. But how do you get knowledge and power into the hands of the powerless? How does a parent with minimal literacy, who has only ever known violence as a means of discipline, learn to challenge a head teacher for beating their child senseless? ‘Research Skills for Policy and Development: How to Find Out Fast’, written by Alan Thomas and Giles Mohan in 2007, became my bread and butter for learning new methodologies for community engagement. Trialing participatory methodologies in the course of my work proved invaluable in helping my colleagues unlock the potential of the local communities to drive an agenda of change from the bottom up. 

This is how the OU equipped me to tackle the complex problem of ending violence against children in schools. During my three years of study, we transitioned at work to a double-sized team, quadruple-sized budget, and with it insufferably long working and study hours. My studies needed a project and I needed to steer over 50 schools in their process of change to adopt zero tolerance towards violence and abuse.

Corporal punishment in Ugandan schools remains a deeply rooted cultural practice, despite measures taken by the government. Teachers continue to punish under the pretense of ‘pushing’ children to attain higher academic grades but, in reality, violence in schools threatens performance and increases drop-out rates. In addition, numerous conversations and much grey literature reveal a strong likelihood that physical violence in schools allows sexual violence to continue for fear of reprisals. Indeed, one of my respondents described how one school proprietor had sexually abused over 70 students right up until his death.

Driven by outrage against such things, the network of organisations I support resolved that they will pursue closer positive inter-organisational relationships whereby their alliances will help to tackle injustice and inequality. Schools in the network are now on a journey to become violence-free and to prove that, as a result, the behaviour and performance of children has greatly improved.

House of Joy Primary School provides the perfect example of a school whose institutional development is stretching deep into the community to involve parents, local authorities and the police as they build strong inter-organisational relationships to benefit the children. A demonstrable change in what were perceived as traditional values and norms is evident as former perpetrators of violence become advocates of the new ways, helping to develop a new form of social dignity within schools.

What a joy it was to be able to engage in a genuine process of social change whilst picking up a Masters degree at the same time!

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