By Diana N. Kintu
As Uganda prepares for the swearing-in of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on May 12, the Ministry of Education and Sports has released a comprehensive account of the sector’s progress over the past 40 years.
According to the statement, the strides made under the NRM administration reflect a deliberate effort to rescue, rebuild and transform Uganda’s education and sports landscape.
In 1986, Uganda’s population stood at 15 million and was served by just 7,600 institutions of learning, including only one university — Makerere University. Today, with a population of 53 million, the country boasts 79,819 educational institutions, including 45,466 primary schools, 7,503 secondary schools, 1,494 post-primary institutions and 55 universities.
A major turning point came with the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997, which doubled enrolment from 2.5 million to 5 million pupils within a year. Today, more than 9 million children are enrolled in primary school, raising the net enrolment ratio for children aged six to 12 to 91 per cent. Literacy rates have also risen to 85 per cent among young people aged 15 to 24.
Similarly, Universal Secondary Education (USE), launched in 2007, has expanded access to education, with enrolment increasing elevenfold to 2.1 million learners.
The government’s policy of establishing a public secondary school in every sub-county has led to the construction of 250 seed schools over the past decade, with an additional 116 currently under construction. Transition rates from primary to secondary education have improved from 15 per cent in the 1980s to 60 per cent today.
Gender parity has also been achieved in basic education, with near-equal enrolment of boys and girls at both primary and secondary levels. Affirmative action introduced in 1990 has increased female enrolment in higher education from 17 per cent to nearly 47 per cent.
The statement also highlighted investments in science education, noting that the number of science teachers has increased sixfold to 14,000, while 800 laboratories have been constructed in public schools. Teacher training institutions have expanded from 19 in 1986 to 150 today, producing more than 100,000 qualified teachers nationwide.
At the tertiary level, Uganda now has 10 public universities spread across different regions, compared to only one in 1986. The number of annual university graduates has grown from 1,000 to 40,000. The Higher Education Students Financing Loan Scheme, introduced in 2014, has also supported more than 16,000 disadvantaged students.
The sports sector has also recorded significant growth, with government funding increasing from UGX 300 million in the 1990s to UGX 500 billion today. Uganda has developed new stadiums, won 13 Olympic medals and secured more than 50 Commonwealth medals.
According to the statement, these achievements are anchored in strong policy and legal frameworks, including the Education Act (2008), the TVET Act (2025) and the National Sports Act (2023).
“Guided by law, driven by policy and centred on improving the quality of life, Uganda’s education and sports sector has undergone deliberate and sustained transformation,” the ministry noted.