Policy gaps in Universal Primary Education that contribute to school dropout in Uganda

Uganda is among the first Sub Saharan African countries that implemented Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme in 1997 with the main goal of providing basic education to all children of school going age. Prior to UPE, primary education was faced with the problem of high dropout and on that basis; it was the expectation of many educational stakeholders that with free education, the problem of school dropout would come to an end. Despite that, many have been disappointed as the rate of school dropout persists to date. Though in principle, factors such as socio-economical, political and policy lead to school dropout, this study seeks to find out how the policy gaps contribute to school dropout.