The government has endorsed the second phase of the Education Response Plan (ERP II) for refugees and host communities in Uganda.
The first lady, also the Minister for Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, approved it on behalf of the government during a meeting she hosted at State House Entebbe that included members of the EPR Committee and secretariat.
The first lady noted that the purpose of ERP II, which will be implemented for the period of 2023–2025, is to mobilize resources and coordinate efforts towards increased access to high-quality and relevant education for refugees and host communities.
She says this will also address gaps identified in the first phase of the educational response plan that was implemented between January 2018 and June 2021.
The first lady welcomed the ERP’s second phase and urged stakeholders to ensure that the services provided do not create disparities between refugees and Ugandans.
“Our own sector of education must know what the program is doing in the refugee camps so that instead of planning for those areas, they plan for the rest of the country where the funding is not going, so that we do not skew the education program.” The secretariat must have all this at the back of your mind all the time. “The planning and oversight of the funds received for this program,” the First Lady explained.
Phase two of EPR covers aspects of access to education in pre-primary, primary, secondary, technical, and vocational training. The program is designed to serve 674895 beneficiaries per year for FY 2022–2023 to FY 2024–2025 at a cost of USD 455 million.