UNATU Policy Dialogue Calls for Greater Public Investment in Education - UNATU

UNATU Policy Dialogue Calls for Greater Public Investment in Education - UNATU
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Legislators, government officials, heads of education institutions, union leaders, and development partners on Friday renewed calls for Uganda to increase public investment in education, warning that continued underfunding is deepening teacher shortages, weakening school infrastructure, and limiting access to quality learning for many children.
The call was made during a high-level
National Policy Dialogue on Financing Public Education in Uganda
, organised by the
Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU)
with support from
Education International
under the
Go Public! Fund Education Campaign
. The meeting, held at Fairway Hotel in Kampala, brought together representatives from the Ministry of Education and Sports, Ministry of Finance, Parliament, national education agencies, school leadership bodies, teacher representatives, and other stakeholders to reflect on the state of education financing and what must be done to strengthen public education.
A warning from the opening session
Opening the dialogue, UNATU National Chairperson
Zadock Tumuhimbise
said the effects of underinvestment are no longer abstract. They are already visible in the daily reality of Uganda’s schools.
“The consequences of underinvestment in the education sector are visible across the education system: teacher shortages, limited teaching and learning resources, inadequate infrastructure and financial pressures on public schools,” he said.
Tumuhimbise said the meeting had been convened as a space for serious reflection and joint action, particularly at a time when Uganda has committed itself to
Sustainable Development Goal 4
, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education for all. He also raised concern about the growing role of private education providers, saying their expansion continues to raise difficult questions of equity, affordability and access for learners from disadvantaged families.
Campaign progress and the Uganda picture
In his presentation on the progress of the
Go Public! Fund Education Campaign
in Uganda, UNATU General Secretary
Baguma Filbert Bates
traced the campaign from its launch in 2023 through stakeholder engagements, parliamentary dialogue, media outreach, public awareness activities, and efforts to elevate teachers’ voices in education policy. He said the campaign was launched in response to declining public education financing, increasing privatisation and commercialisation of education, worsening working conditions for teachers, and the global shortage of qualified teachers.
Baguma noted that while there has been some progress, including continued teacher recruitment, teacher upgrading, promotions, and the construction and staffing of some seed secondary schools, serious financing gaps remain in capitation grants, infrastructure development, teacher welfare, and teaching resources.
His message was direct:
“Public education remains the primary pathway for most learners in Uganda, as private schooling is prohibitively expensive and accessible to only a few.”
That concern was reinforced by statistics discussed at the dialogue showing that Uganda’s education budget share has declined sharply in recent years. Dr. Dennis Sinyolo’s presentation cited UNESCO-linked figures showing Uganda’s education spending fell as a share of total public expenditure from
13.6 percent to 8.5 percent
, with the latest estimate suggesting it fell further to
6.6 percent in 2024/25
, placing Uganda among the lowest spenders in sub-Saharan Africa and globally.
Africa’s campaign progress and the wider regional context
Presenting on campaign progress across the continent,
Mercy Muthusi
, EI Africa Regional Coordinator, placed Uganda’s dialogue within a broader African movement to defend public education. Her presentation showed that the campaign is active across multiple countries and sub-regions, with recurring concerns around underfunding, teacher shortages, weak social dialogue, and growing privatisation. In East Africa, countries engaged in Go Public activities include Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia, with common focus areas including financing gaps, SDG4 alignment, teacher shortages and privatisation trends.
That regional framing fed into the main presentation by
Dr Dennis Sinyolo
, EI Africa Regional Director, who argued that Africa already has numerous education frameworks and commitments, but many countries are failing to match those commitments with the financing needed to make them real. His presentation noted that, on average, African countries invest
3.8 percent of GDP
or
14 percent of national budgets
in education, below the recommended
6 percent of GDP
and
20 percent of the national budget
He also highlighted the scale of the teacher crisis. According to projections cited in his presentation,
44 million new teachers
are needed globally to achieve SDG 4 by 2030, while
Sub-Saharan Africa needs at least 15 million
to replace those lost through attrition and to reduce class sizes. In Uganda, the pressure is already visible. His presentation cited a
pupil-teacher ratio of 60:1
in public primary schools in 2024, with
37 out of 177 local government authorities
averaging at least
80:1
His closing message summed up the urgency of the day:
“Invest in education and teachers NOW!”
Institutions, agencies and legislators respond
One of the most engaging sessions of the day came during the institutional reactions, moderated by
Teopista Birungi Mayanja
. The session drew responses from the
Ministry of Education and Sports
National Curriculum Development Centre
Uganda National Examinations Board
Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education
, and
Parliament
The feedback was largely positive and encouraging. Representatives from agencies, institutes and legislative bodies welcomed the dialogue, affirmed the importance of continued engagement on education financing, and acknowledged the need to address teacher recruitment, teacher welfare, operational support, school infrastructure and learning resources more deliberately. The overall tone suggested broad agreement that the conversation could not end with one meeting.
On the parliamentary side, the delegation was led by
Hon. Namubiru Rwabushaija Margaret
. While some MPs present were members of the
Education and Sports Committee
, the majority came from the
Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Quality Education
, giving the session a strong policy and advocacy presence.
Teacher losses and delayed replacement
The dialogue’s concerns over financing were closely tied to teacher loss and delayed replacement. UNATU GS said teacher deaths, resignations and retirements are not being matched by immediate recruitment, leaving schools to absorb the gap for extended periods.
That warning matches concerns raised publicly around the dialogue. He reported that UNATU lost
535 member teachers
between January and December 2025, 412 of them men, while many more exited through retirement or abandonment of service. He further explained that teachers are not replaced immediately, meaning some classes remain unattended and the quality of education suffers. He also warned that every delay in filling a vacant teaching position directly affects learning outcomes and examination performance.
A parliamentary warning on access and affordability
Among the legislators who spoke strongly on the issue was
Hon. Joseph Ssewungu
, MP for Kalungu West and Shadow Minister for Education, who warned that underfunding is creating space for private actors to dominate the sector while many families are being priced out.
Hon. Ssewungu said: “The education sector is increasingly being taken over by the private sector, which will make it harder for children to access affordable education. But even the public schools are no longer free.” He also criticised delays in securing higher education allocations through budget processes.
That concern was echoed in other coverage of the event, which reported calls for timely recruitment of teachers and stronger government funding for public education, alongside arguments that insufficient public investment has created a vacuum that allows profit-driven private providers to thrive.
A shared closing message
Closing the dialogue on behalf of the Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Education, Basic Education Elizabeth Mutumba
said the issues raised during the day, including teacher recruitment, teacher welfare, infrastructure, operational financing, and the availability of teaching and learning resources, are all critical to a strong public education system.
“Teachers remain the backbone of education delivery,” she said, adding that the views shared by teachers, policymakers, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders would feed into ongoing discussions aimed at strengthening education policy and financing in Uganda.
By the end of the meeting, the message was clear. Uganda’s public education system cannot be protected by speeches alone. It requires stronger financing, more consistent policy follow-through, and a deliberate decision to treat teachers, schools and learners as a national priority.
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