Uganda’s classrooms are getting a serious upgrade.
The government has splashed Shs 5.04 trillion on schools and universities in the coming financial year, 2025/2026 with promises of free education, new buildings, and even more teachers on the ground.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija dished out the details on Thursday during his famous National budget speech. He revealed that over 9.52 million pupils are already under the Universal Primary Education program, while nearly a million are benefitting from free secondary and post-O’ level education. University students haven’t been left out either as 5,192 got student loans this year, and 4,000 scored Government scholarships to public universities.
The Minister further implied that his brown briefcase is inot just books and blackboards but Uganda is going big on sports. With CHAN and AFCON27 around the corner, he indicated that the Government has already sunk Shs 496.8 billion into the Hoima and Akii Bua stadiums and training centres. And there’s more coming, Shs 1.34 trillion will finish them up in time to fly Uganda’s flag high. Mandela National Stadium has had a facelift, and the high-altitude training centre in Teryet is ready for action.
The inspection game is changing too. According to Kasaija, schools are now under digital surveillance to make sure they’re meeting quality standards. Plus, a new teachers’ training institute, UNITE, is already shaping up future educators. It has enrolled 1,000 students and is taking over 23 primary colleges to upgrade teachers from certificate to diploma level.
He further mentioned that Curriculum reforms have also taken root, with over 357,000 learners completing the new-look Lower Secondary system and moving on to a modern A-Level format. TVET programs are also evolving with industry players now calling the shots through a new Council and Skills Secretariats.
Kasaija promised that 120 old schools will be getting a major facelift and 116 brand-new seed schools springing up. The Government is also hiring more teachers, making school inspections stricter through tech, and bringing down the textbook struggle,aiming for one book for every three students, down from the current one for every 15. And yes, Bunyoro and Busoga are finally getting their own universities.
