Ministry of Education highlights achievements and future plans

5 December 2024, 2:37 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Minister of Education and Sports, who also serves as the First Lady of Uganda, Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni, has outlined the ministry’s achievements and challenges during the manifesto presentation at the State House in Nakasero, Kampala. She highlighted several accomplishments, including the ongoing construction of 114 seed secondary schools, expected to be completed by 2025. “The ministry is set to commence the construction of 116 new secondary schools under the Uganda Secondary School Expansion Project,” she confirmed.

The minister further stated that, over the past three years, the government has allocated UGX 37.77 billion for procuring textbooks and other instructional materials to support the implementation of the lower secondary curriculum. With these funds, 22.8 million copies of textbooks for Senior One and Two (costing UGX 8.6 billion) and 14.2 million copies for Senior Three and Four have been procured. These supplies were distributed to both public and private secondary schools, covering seven core subjects and 13 non-core subjects.

Regarding teacher and learner attendance, the Teacher and Learner Achievement (TELA) system has been rolled out to all government-aided primary, secondary, and certificate-awarding institutions to address absenteeism. To operationalise the system, 12,006 phones were procured and distributed to the institutions. Additionally, 22,500 headteachers and deputy principals across primary schools, secondary schools, and certificate-awarding institutions have been trained on the TELA system.

The rollout process has involved extensive stakeholder engagements with district, municipal, and city accounting officers, as well as central and local government school inspectors. The implementation of the TELA system has significantly improved teacher attendance, as reported by inspectors across various local governments. A total of 6,365 schools, including 5,152 primary schools, 682 secondary schools, and 44 certificate-awarding institutions, are now using the system. This progress has enhanced monitoring and accountability, crucial for improving education quality by ensuring teachers are present and engaged in their roles.

In the financial year 2023/24, UGX 111.743 billion was allocated to enhance the wage bill for science teaching staff in secondary and tertiary institutions. The government plans to further increase salaries for its employees if the economy improves. On teacher accommodation, 684 staff houses have been constructed in the 114 new seed secondary schools under the first phase. The government has made it mandatory for new school constructions to comply with basic requirements and minimum standards, including at least six staff houses.

Concerning sports, the government is committed to constructing a new stadium with training grounds and improving existing sports facilities in preparation for the 2027 African Cup of Nations. These facilities are expected to serve beyond the tournament. The ministry is also implementing development projects in the physical education and sports sub-sector to foster talent identification and sports development across the country.

In conclusion, the ministry has successfully rehabilitated, expanded, and equipped six TVET institutions, transforming them into centers of excellence. These include Bukalasa Agricultural College, Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba, UTC Bushenyi (manufacturing), UTC Elgon (general construction), UTC Kichwamba (oil and gas construction), and UTC Lira (road and bridge construction). Additionally, two regional institutions for persons with disabilities have been constructed: Mbale Senior Secondary School for the Deaf and Wakiso Senior Secondary School for the Deaf.