"Knowledge and information are power," said Uganda’s Education Minister, Khiddu Makubuya. "Our future is in our youth and we must offer them the best possible start in life". One would be forgiven for thinking that the words refer to kindergarten or primary school education in Africa. But he was talking about secondary schooling at the opening, Monday, of the first regional conference on secondary education in Africa, being held in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. To date, secondary schooling has played second fiddle to primary education, which has attracted most of the funds and attention of both donors and African governments in recent years.