14.10.2024

Uganda’s First Lady praises Finn Church Aid for quality education support

Mrs. Janet Museveni, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, has expressed gratitude to Finn Church Aid Uganda for their support and promotion of quality education in the country.

ON OCTOBER 8, 2024, Mrs. Museveni hosted a high-level delegation from Finland at State House, Entebbe.

She highlighted Finn Church Aid’s (FCA) significant work, particularly in refugee-hosting districts, providing technical assistance to the Education Policy Review Commission, developing infrastructure, and supporting continuous teacher development.

The visit to Uganda was to celebrate FCA’s 10th anniversary of operations in the country.

A group of people in business attire and wearing face masks pose for a photo on the steps of an official white building. Some of the people are wearing clerical collars
The delegation was led by the Most Rev. Dr. Tapio Luoma, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It included H.E. Pirkko Tapiola, Finnish Ambassador to Uganda and Kenya; H.E. Margaret Otteskov, Uganda’s Ambassador to the Nordic states; Tomi Järvinen, Global Executive Director for FCA; and Wycliffe Nsheka, Country Director for FCA Uganda and Ethiopia country programmes, among others.

During the meeting, Mrs. Museveni praised the quality and excellence of all FCA-built schools. She emphasised the importance of such attention to detail for skills development, noting that it encourages the prioritisation of quality in all endeavours.

She acknowledged the global admiration for Finland’s education system, citing it as the reason for the Education Service Review Commission’s benchmark visit to Finland.

Mrs. Museveni requested Finnish support for vocational education in Uganda, particularly in training instructors for Technical and Vocational Institutes.

“We would like to see how we can cooperate and work together in some areas of our education, like skills development, if there is any opportunity at all. I wonder whether Finland could help us in this area, either by taking our trainers to Finland to be trained and, when they return, they train others,” she suggested.

The First Lady also highlighted the Ministry of Education and Sports’ embrace of digital information management systems, expressing interest in improving techniques for registering all school children in the country.

Mrs Museveni, Uganda’s Minister of Education and Sport, praised FCA’s work in Uganda.

“We are trying to get all the school children in the country registered, and we have been attempting many times, but our exercises don’t seem to work permanently. We keep doing what they call a head count from time to time,” she explained. “In order for the Government to send the accurate Capitation Grant, you have to know the actual number of children in a particular school. Therefore, getting information regarding the children would help us clear that problem once and for all,” she said.

Mrs. Museveni expressed interest in emulating Sweden’s efficient citizen registration system, where all information about an individual is accessible with a single click. She asked Uganda’s Ambassador to the Nordic States to investigate the possibility of adopting a similar system.

Regarding Uganda’s open-door refugee policy, Mrs. Museveni explained that many Ugandans, including her family, were once refugees themselves. This experience helps them understand the forces that drive people from their homeland.

“We basically offer what we can, knowing that nobody just wants to run away from their country. So, because we have that background, it helps us to remember where we have come from and what we can do for others when they stand where we once stood,” she added.

The Most Rev. Dr. Tapio Luoma commended the First Lady and President Museveni for Uganda’s progressive refugee policies.

Four men in business suits or clerical collars sit in ornamental chairs on grass under a marquee. One is talking into a microphone
The Most Rev. Dr. Tapio Luoma during the meeting with Uganda’s First Lady.

“One thing that Finland and many other countries could learn from Uganda is the way the country welcomes refugees and how it handles the problem of internally displaced people,” he remarked.

Tomi Järvinen, FCA’s Global Executive Director, reaffirmed their commitment to working with African countries. He reported on their efforts to promote digital means of connecting students with businesses and the business community. “We recognise that the future demands not just one profession, but multiple skills that allow quick adaptation to different types of work,” he said.

Wycliffe Nsheka, FCA Country Director for Uganda and Ethiopia, announced that Finn Church Aid had recently revised its global strategy, with the right to quality education remaining a top priority.

Men and women in business attire or clerical collars sit in ornamental chairs on grass under a marquee. One is holding a microphone
Wycliffe Nsheka (holding microphone) is FCA Country Director for Uganda and Ethiopia.

He reported that FCA works with refugees and has also partnered with UNICEF under the Quality Enhancement Initiative in underperforming districts.

Text: Kadlah Nabakembo
Photos: courtesy of the office of the First Lady

Main photo: Mrs. Janet Museveni, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports presents FCA’s Executive Director, Tomi Järvinen, with a commemorative book.