The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) has called on the government to increase funding for education in order to alleviate the burden of high fees imposed by private schools on parents.
According to UNATU, augmenting education funding and revitalizing public schools would relieve parents from the onerous fees charged by private schools, along with the unrealistic school requirements. The union emphasized that the rising cost of education during the back-to-school period has become a significant concern for many parents striving to secure quality education for their children.
Despite the availability of free public education, numerous parents opt for private schooling due to the underperformance of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) public schools.
UNATU stressed the necessity for adequate government funding to advance the attainment of quality education in the country. UNATU Secretary-General Filbert Baguma highlighted the importance of public education through UPE and USE programs for ensuring increased access to education for all Ugandan children. Baguma underscored the underfunding of the public education sector, leading to inadequately resourced teaching and learning environments, thereby affecting the quality of education provided.
In addition to increasing funding, Baguma outlined various essential measures, including enhancing teachers’ salaries without discrimination, addressing the learner-teacher ratio, and other critical interventions.
UNATU emphasized the government’s duty to regulate the education sector, despite having opened it to private investment. It called for the recruitment of more teachers, salary improvement, activation of the scheme of service, continuous professional development support, financial assistance to teachers’ SACCOs, and increased investment in teaching and learning materials.
Furthermore, the teachers’ union advocated for enhanced access to mental health services, increased capitation grants, research investment, and the revitalization of public schools to bridge the gap widened by the commercialization of the education sector.
Although the Ministry of Education is one of the largest recipients of the national budget, UNATU argued that the allocated funds are still insufficient. In the 2023/2024 financial year, the education sector received Shs4.02 trillion, a decrease from Shs4.11 trillion in the previous financial year.
During the release of the 2023 UCE results, the Minister for Education reassured the public of the government’s commitment to investing in quality education across all schools, including those implementing universal education. This reaffirmed the government’s dedication to addressing the challenges in the education sector.
