The Executive Director of Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Dr. Chris Mukiza, has appealed to local government officials and politicians to mobilize people to participate in the ongoing national baseline education, aquaculture and labour census activities across the country.
In a public notice, Dr. Mukiza urges local government leaders to support thousands of enumerators that UBOS has deployed with accurate information for quality data collection.
“To have credible data i implore Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), the Town Clerks, the Sub County/Parish Chiefs and the elected leaders like city mayors, district chairpersons and councilors plus the divisions, sub county, wards and village or cells chairpersons to mobilize the public and work with the enumerators during the exercise harmoniously,”Mukiza stressed.
Mukiza is optimistic that the data collected will help enhance planning and policy decision-making in the education sector.
“Data relating to the institutions’ ownership and learning materials’ availability will equally be collected. Yet for all this data collection to succeed, parents have to enable learners to answer the enumerators’ questions accurately by availing them with correct information regarding their dates of birth, NINs and Learners Identification Numbers (LINs),”he stated.
UBOS is currently undertaking Aquaculture,Labour and Education baseline Census in conjunction with Ministryof Education, Ministry of Agriculture (MAAIF) and the Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development.
Whereas the education census began on 7th April and will run up to 30th June, aquaculture census and Labor Market Survey will commence in May.
Currently education is covering all learning institutions in Uganda from nursery to universities-encompassing the pre-primary, primary, secondary, vocational and higher institutions of learning. It will cover both government-owned and private institutions.
More than 8,500 enumerators are in the field working in Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area districts of Kampala, Wakiso & Mukono to collect bio-data on learners, members of staff, and on the institutions’ physical infrastructure.
Meanwhile the Aquaculture census will see the enumerators collect primary structural data on aquaculture activities specifically regarding the numbers, size and distribution of aquaculture holdings, characteristics of aquaculture households, land use and other inputs.
The overall idea is to collect comprehensive and accurate data on the aquaculture sub sector by way of establishing the number of aquaculture farms in Uganda, production levels, technologies used and the types of aquaculture systems in use.
Socio-economic data on aquaculture operators & their households will equally have to be collected as will be the case with data relating to the environmental impact deriving from aquaculture activities. The enumerators will have to visit all aquaculture farms in Uganda and Dr. Mukiza urges stakeholders to render them full support and cooperation.
As for the Labor Market Survey data collection aim is to collect and provide statistical data regarding Uganda’s labor market dynamics in order to inform the relevant planning and effective policy formulation. The enumerators will specifically be collecting information on labor market trends, labor demands and labor market efficiency.