By Nanteza Ruth Walusimbi
NATIONAL
Government has ended the policy of permanent registration of private schools and instead adopted the renewable registration that will require all licenses of private schools to be reviewed every five years to establish their compliance before they are allowed to continue their operations.
The revelation was made by Peace Busingye, Principal Education Officer, (Guidance and Counselling) Ministry of Education and Sports, while appearing before Parliament’s Human Rights Committee today the 22nd of August 2025, to answer queries raised in the 2024 State of Human Rights and Freedoms in Uganda, authored by the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).
“The Ministry, through the gazetted Guidelines for Establishing, Licensing, Registering and Classification of Private Schools/Institutions in Uganda- 2014, effected a change from permanent registration of private schools to renewable registration every after five years purposely to enhance compliance. The first cohort of expired registration for private secondary schools commenced this year 2025.” Said Busingye.
According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, as of June 2024, there were 30,983 private primary schools and 6,051 private secondary schools in Uganda.
The breakdown details that Uganda has 30,983 private and 12,551 Government primary schools. The pupil-teacher ratio in private primary schools is 41:1 compared to 60:1 in Government schools.
At the secondary level, the country has 1,415 Government schools and 6,051 private schools, which distribution the UHRC says highlights a significant role for non-State actors in providing education, especially at the secondary level.
It should be noted that Government enacted the Education Act on the regulation of private sector involvement in education; which has special provisions relating to private schools, such as requirements for establishing private schools, classification of private schools, licensing and registration of private schools, cancellation of registration, change of ownership, closure and re-opening, and management.
However, the Uganda Human Rights Commission indicated that although the Act obliges the Ministry of Education to issue regulations from time to time dealing with issues of management, governance, and control of schools, such as procedures and functions of School Management Committees (SMCs) and Boards of Governors as well as school fees payable at any school, uniforms and meals, these regulations are yet to be issued and instead, the Ministry has, over the years, opted to issue Circulars and Guidelines to school authorities.
Uganda Human Rights Commission also raised concerns over the poor working conditions amongst teachers in private schools characterized by poor pay and long working hours.
The Ministry of Education responded to the concerns by the Commission noting that measures have been undertaken to strengthen guidance and counselling programs and incorporate life skills education in schools, citing the new curriculum at the lower secondary level that it says has been intentionally designed to embed life skills and “generic skills”, shifting beyond traditional academic content to prepare learners for real-life challenges and workplace demands.
