Oyam-based Iceme Girls SS will next year start partnering its students with national role models through a new apprenticeship programme, as a way of ending the school dropout rate.
The school head teacher, Sister Claire Kemigisa, told a gathering at Mosa Court hotel in Kampala last week, that the move would also improve their employability after school.
She explained that the students would also be engaged with entrepreneurs, as an effective tool to promote a sense of entrepreneurship.
“Even [when] they go to a factory [for a school tour], they only do observations and recording for exams,” she said.
According to Kemigisa, many students join the labour market without the required entrepreneurial skill-set needed to ‘join the informal sector jobs’. The move comes as the school is working with Africa Education Trust (AET) to publish a new book to offer career guidance and entrepreneurial skills to learners at a youthful stage.
“Everything is ready. The ministry is still going through and we are hopefully waiting its final signoff,” said Lesley Waller, a senior programme coordinator at AET.
According to the 2014 population census report, the youth aged between 18 and 30 years constitute 64 per cent of those lacking employment.
“We are thinking of taking these students to places like [car] garages so they can be inspired. Exposure is important; when you are exposed, you have a broader perspective,” she said.
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