still many children of school going age who are not in school. There is no significant difference in net intake rate by gender although enrolled females are fewer than males. Not all children in Uganda currently have access to primary and secondary education. The categories of children that have difficulty accessing education include the over aged, street children, children from seminomadic populations, children with disabilities, juvenile offenders, children from geographically marginalized populations, domestic workers, working children, orphans, the girl child and children affected by armed conflict such as refugees, internally displaced and the abducted. These children lack basic educational provisions owing mainly to the unfavourable environment within which they live. For example, in Gulu District of Northern Uganda a total of 75 schools were reported destroyed in 1997, with over 215 primary teachers killed (Barton & Mutiti, 1998). In areas affected by conflict, people generally lack sufficient money to pay for school fees and other dues. Some children are orphaned as a result of the conflict and dropout of school owing to lack of sponsorship and general welfare. Although Uganda has made significant progress towards achieving the right to education for all children, completion and achievement rates are still low. The proportion of girls who drop out is higher than boys especially after primary five. Girls also tend to repeat less often than boys implying that, rather than repeating, they prefer to drop out and stay home. Lack of interest in studies, sickness, search for jobs/child labour and lack of school fees are some of the main reasons for dropping out of school. Poverty is also reported as one of the causes of non-completion of primary school. This is further justified by the evidence that high costs of schooling is considered a reason for school drop out. Parents and community members‟ negative attitude towards education of girls and reluctance to pay for school costs related to hygienic conditions. Additional challenges to girls‟ education are inability of schools to protect girls from abuse, discriminative attitudes and practices by teachers, stereotyped curriculum and teaching methods and absence of relevant life skills and guidance on reproductive health. Some children especially in rural areas walk long distances to reach schools. Good sanitation in some of the primary schools is inadequate. Attempts are being made to create‟ girl friendly school environments such as improving on sanitation, having trained senior women teachers to act as counsellors, like skills training, among others. Other challenges that require urgent attention include: the high pupil: teacher ratio, large classroom sizes, high pupil: textbook ratio, the low percentage of trained teachers and inadequate motivation of teachers. This is a partnership between the government and development partners ensure access to and improved quality of education for the children of Uganda as outlined below. 8.1.1 Teacher Development and Management Plan The teacher development and management system has been put in place to improve the quality of instruction of primary and secondary school teachers and to ensure an equitable distribution of teachers throughout the country. Under the TDMS, a net of core primary Teachers Colleges (PTCs) and coordinating centres have been established and are providing: in-service teacher training for unqualified teachers; continuous professional development for trained teachers; financial management training for head teachers; and a number of outreach activities to support primary schools in the country. 8.1.2 Primary School Classroom Construction Programme The National classroom construction plan for the expansion of school facilities is being implemented. By February, 2000, 2029 classrooms had been completed giving a performance level of 70 per cent. A decentralized, community-based approach has been adopted as the main delivery modality for classroom 27