The need to pay for education draws Africans into the market

But not all earn enough to afford it


IN JANUARY SCHOOLS in Uganda reopened after nearly two years of covid-19 closures. That was a source of delight to poor parents who hope to improve their children’s prospects through education. But it was also a source of dread for many others, since they knew they would struggle to afford to pay the fees.Prossy Nabatebeka, a firewood-seller in Masaka district, took on casual work to pay for her children’s schooling, digging ditches in a rich man’s pineapple field. Her 14-year-old daughter became a labourer, too, heaving charcoal onto trucks. Others sold assets to raise enough money. Alex Matwiga, a local land-dealer, said that he was handling twice as many transactions as in usual months because parents were selling land at fire-sale prices, mostly to government officials or traders from town. “People don’t have other options,” he explained. “They are in the squeeze.”

  • Source The need to pay for education draws Africans into the market
  • you may also like

    • by DUBAI AND JERUSALEM
    • 07 25, 2024
    Israel and the Houthis trade bombs and bluster