The study was intended to establish the effect of school security and safety on learners’ academic performance in selected primary schools in Majanji Sub County, Busia District. With intent to find out the factors influencing learners’ academic performance as well as identifying the strategies in place to cater for school security and also determine the effect of school security strategies on learners’ academic performance. Findings showed cases of early pregnancies or early marriages, failure to consider children’s rights and presence of learners with emotional problems. Conclusively, an unsafe school is more likely to result in students who have emotional problems, particularly direct victims of violence or bullying. Consider setting up a hotline to allow victims and witnesses to report occurrences in confidence. Some public schools are increasingly enforcing uniforms for all pupils, just like private institutions. Thus, the study recommends that schools work with the parents together with development partners and government to put up security systems in schools for learners’ safety.

A student as agent of change in the curriculum design and implementation, involvement and participation in the secondary schools is of critical importance. The need to adopt and change to a competency learning approach that meets the needs of the student, and members of the community. To further scholarly understanding of, and appreciation for, students voice in decision making, participation, student participation in participatory design, as well as and student partnership in curriculum design and implementation. This paper clarifies the unique contributions of each, shaped by differing contexts of interaction, and articulate issues arising by confounding and conflating partnership and representation in the name of student voice. Advancing an argument for an ecosystem of student participation grounded in student voice, we warn of the harm in positioning student partners as speaking for other students and the risk of diminishing the importance of elected student representation systems in favor of staff selected student partner models of student representation.

This mixed research study focused on the selection criterion and guidelines used by the Higher Education Students Financing Board (HESFB) in granting students loan scheme to University Students in Uganda with a sample from Makerere University. Findings revealed that the majority of the loan beneficiaries are aware of these guidelines and one to benefit from the scheme had to formally pass A level education stage with 3 principle passes in a science subjects combination and are selected after filling a standard application form. Although many come from low economic family status with heavy household poverty, the study concluded that the selection criteria favors students who have passed science subjects and thus leaving behind impoverished students from humanity study disciplines/courses. Thus it recommends a framework for the need to revise the guidelines to cater and consider all backgrounds of applicants for this loan scheme irrespective of their course, family background and economic status to achieve the program goal as it's done in other countries.