Skill-based Education to Achieve Justice and Sustainable Livelihoods for Girls and Women in Post-conflict Northern Uganda

Oct 15, 2026

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This policy brief examines girls aged 15 to 24 in post-conflict northern Uganda, focusing on how educational experiences shape livelihood aspirations and empowerment pathways. It identifies structural barriers that derail ambitions despite girls’ resilience, including poverty, early pregnancy, gender norms, and weak inter-institutional coordination. While Uganda’s skills-oriented, gender-responsive policies expand access, completion, transitions, and exam measures misalign with empowerment needs, and VET remains gender-stereotyped, stigmatizing adolescent mothers. Recommendations propose a justice-oriented, skills-based model integrating practical, strategic, and systemic reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Justice-oriented education (JOE)

Uganda’s education initiatives and persistent disparities

Enrollment gaps versus completion and transitions

POLICY BRIEF Skill-based education to achieve justice and sustainable livelihoods for girls and women in post-conflict northern Uganda ECHIDNA GLOBAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM BETTY AK UL LO Executive Summary This policy brief explores the educational experiences and livelihood aspirations of girls ages 15 to 24 in post-conflict northern Uganda in an effort to ascertain the structural barriers to their empowerment pathways. While girls exhibited resilience and demonstrated ambitions to pursue professional careers, start their own businesses, and lead in their communities, factors such as poverty, early pregnancy, gender norms, and poor inter-institutional coordination continue to derail the realization of their aspirations. The government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Education and Sports, has made deliberate efforts to promote girls’ education by putting in place progressive, gender-responsive, skills-oriented policies aimed at broadening access, equity, and employability. However, while almost 100% gross enrollment rates have been achieved at the primary level across the country, evidence from northern Uganda shows a looming gap between enrollments and completion, as well as transition to secondary and tertiary institutions. Besides, examinations as a measure of success in formal education do not align with the empowerment needs ofadolescents. Vocational education and training (VET) remain gender-stereotyped and puts adolescent mothers who wish to participate in education under stigma, due to uneven implementation of re-entry policies. The findings inform recommendations that call for a justice-oriented, skills-based education model, focused on meeting three sets of integrated needs: • Practical needs, which are key for girls’ immediate survival, including school participation and retention. SKILL-BASED EDUCATION TO ACHIEVE JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN IN POST-CONFLICT NORTHERN UGANDA 1 • Strategic needs that promote girls’ agency, confidence, and leadership. • Systemic reforms that align policy implementation, financing, and accountability with post-conflict realities. In the context of northern Uganda, this model is fundamental to rebuilding resilient communities and fostering just development. SKILL-BASED EDUCATION TO ACHIEVE JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN IN POST-CONFLICT NORTHERN UGANDA 2 Introduction Education is recognized globally as a key driver of gender equality and economic transformation, particularly for marginalized groups, and it is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 on inclusive, equitable, quality education and gender equality (Kuteesa et al., 2024; United Nations, 2015 ). Yet global policy actors increasingly acknowledge that expanding access alone is insufficient, calling instead for education systems that foster critical thinking, equity, empowerment, and structural transformation (UNESCO, n.d.; UNGEI, UNICEF, and Plan International, 2021; Hosseini, 2024) . These actors reflect a growing call for a more justice-oriented education, an approach that goes beyond enrollment and completion to address the structural, gendered, and economic barriers shaping girls’ life chances. Justiceoriented education strengthens girls’ agency, builds livelihood-relevant capabilities, and transforms the systemic conditions that constrain their participation and economic independence (see Box 1) . BOX 1 Justice-oriented education Justice-oriented education (JOE) addresses power relations and structural inequalities shaping girls’ educational experiencesand opportunities, treating education as both a right and a site for transforming unequal power relations (UNGEI, UNICEF, and Plan International, 2021) . Grounded in human rights, gender equality, and social justice principles, JOE combines relevant skill development with psychosocial support, mentorship, and protection, while actively confronting social norms, stigm

FAQs

What barriers prevent girls in post-conflict northern Uganda from reaching their educational and livelihood goals?

Poverty, early pregnancy, gender norms, and poor inter-institutional coordination derail girls’ empowerment pathways even when they show resilience and ambition.

Why do high enrollment rates not lead to empowerment outcomes in the brief?

The brief states that enrollment does not translate into completion or meaningful post-school transitions, especially in post-conflict northern Uganda, with substantial attrition between enrollment and completion.

How does the brief propose to improve education for girls and women?

It recommends a justice-oriented, skills-based education model that meets integrated needs: practical survival needs, strategic agency and leadership needs, and systemic reforms aligning policy implementation, financing, and accountability with post-conflict realities.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Jake