It is non political, non sectarian and non profi t organisation established in 1936 by the late prince Badru Kakungulu and his colleagues to take
care of Muslim education at the time when the colonial governement had entrusted education in the hands of the Christian missionaries who
deliberately excluded Muslims or converted them before admission to their schools.
But the prince and his peers then were aware that without secular education the Muslim community would neither share the national cake nor fit into the new world reality. Hence, they set up UMEA to ensure that Muslims achieve both secular and Islamic religious education.
UMEA operated alongside the catholic and protestant education secretariats and effecively oversaw the establishment and management of UMEA schools across the country. This was possible with the financial support of government and Muslim brothers in business, notably His Highness the Aghakhan and his associates.When government Nationalized Education in 1964 the Christian Secretariats withdrew into their churches and continued operating while UMEA was completely closed since there was no centralized Muslim leadership.
When Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) was established in 1972 it established .an education department to take charge of Muslim
education needs in the country. However, this department did not function to the expectation of the community. Other organisations like UMYA and UMTA, set up in 1987 attempted to fill the gap with limited success and by 1995 it was clear that UMEA had to be revived which was promptly done. This was welcome news to the Muslim Community and UMSC recognized UMEA as the technical arm to run the affairs of Muslim education in Uganda.
UMEA also works jointly with the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) and other civil societies in lobbying government and fighting for preservation of the rights, freedoms and interests of the different faiths groups in education.
UMEA’s Vision:
An empowered and forward looking Muslim community adherent to the Quran and Sunnah and meaningfully participating in the national and global affairs.
UMEA’s Mission:
To build institutions that will produce high quality practicing Muslims with the right attitude, knowledge and skills which are necessary for enabling them to effectively participate in their community, national and international affairs.
Core Values:
- Adherence to the Quran and Sunnah.
- Holistic education
- Accountability and transparence
- Tolerance and peaceful co-existence
- Cooperation and partnership.
- Unity in diversity
- Voluntarism and social responsibility
As earlier indicated UMEA is a non political, non sectarian and non profit organisation established in 1936 by the late Prince Badru Kakungulu and his colleagues to take care of Muslim education at the time when the colonial government had entrusted education in the hands of the Christian missionaries who deliberately excluded Muslims or converted
them before admission to their schools. It should be recalled that when this happened Muslims withdrew from secular eduation in favour of Islamic education on veranda and mosque Madrasas.
The colonial government attempted to lure them back to secular education by setting up special schools for Muslims (examples; Nyanja’eladde at Makerere, Bwala, Kabasanda, Kibuli, Gombe, Kabwangasi etc). This attempt failed. The schools were of very poor standards and they did not take long to actually collapse.
It was against this background that the Prince and his peers foresaw the danger of muslims lagging behind in national affairs due to lack of secular education and hence formed UMEA.
UMEA has since worked with UMSC, UMTA, UMYA, IUIU, Muslim NGOs, school proprietors and managers as well as other Muslim stakeholders and government to ensure that Muslim interests in education are well looked after.
Today UMEA has a fully fl edged Academic, Monitoring and Discipline Department (AMDD) composed of trained Associate assessors who are senior educationists, which serves as the inspectorate. This team inspects schools; provides professional support, supervision and capacity building for school managers and other stake holders.