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Affirmative Action and Women in Uganda’s Public University Education

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Abstract

This article examines how Affirmative Action was used to govern access to higher education for the disadvantaged. In 1991, a gender-based Affirmative Action policy was incorporated into college admission in Uganda. Using existing empirical data at district and college levels, the article accounts for the categories of women for whom the Uganda’s Affirmative Action policy is most effective. The study found that Affirmative Action had a substantial effect. Sixty-six per cent of the sampled population would not have been admitted, had it not been for Affirmative Action. But the policy did not work for the historically disadvantaged; it worked for specific categories of women from specific regions, districts and high schools; on grounds that it was implemented for competitive reasons. The study provides relevant lessons for policy making in countries grappling with the challenges of high socio-economic inequality and higher returns to higher education.

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Funding

This study was part of a larger study, partly funded by a bursary from the University of South Africa for which I am most grateful.

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  1. College of Graduate Studies, Department of Development Studies, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Geoffrey Odaga

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  1. Geoffrey Odaga
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Correspondence to Geoffrey Odaga.

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Odaga, G. Affirmative Action and Women in Uganda’s Public University Education. High Educ Policy 35, 1–18 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00189-8

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