Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament’s Education Committee has received urgent appeals from three key institutions, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), and the Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE), for more than UGX 118 billion in additional resources in the 2026/27 financial year.
Prof. Mary Nakhanda Okwakol, Executive Director of the NCHE, told the committee on Monday that as Parliament finalises the 2026/27 budget, the Council’s unfunded and underfunded priorities from last year’s framework paper totalled UGX 31.814 billion. The new costs triggered by the shift to competence-based education at UGX 7.283bn brings the total requirement to UGX 39.097bn.
“Part of these funds will facilitate the accreditation of 900 new and revised programmes that are currently unfunded,” Prof. Nakhanda explained.
Current resources cover only 600 programmes, leaving a shortfall of UGX 1.275 billion. Monitoring and inspection capacity is equally stretched: funding exists for just 90 visits, yet 180 routine inspections are now required, costing an additional UGX 2 billion. Transitional support for institutions implementing the new standards is estimated at UGX 1.7 billion, bringing the total education and training transition cost to UGX 4.975 billion.
Transport remains a critical bottleneck. With only seven field vehicles for the entire country, NCHE cannot deploy inspection teams simultaneously across regions. Acquiring seven new vehicles and covering associated operational costs will require UGX 2.308 billion. “If we don’t have this transport, we will have backlogs in programme accreditation and limited monitoring of institutional compliance,” Prof. Nakhanda warned.
The Council is also seeking UGX 7.28 billion specifically for regulatory effectiveness under the new competence-based framework. “This investment will directly protect learners and uphold national standards as institutions transition,” she added.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Sports Peter Ogwang, who led the ministerial team, urged the committee to grant the full amount. “Imagine transport, how are you going to check on universities and tertiary institutions if they can’t even move?” he asked.
While NCHE focuses on higher education oversight, the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) painted a worrying picture at the lower-secondary level. Director Dr. Bernadette Nambi revealed that the shift to competence-based methodologies demands extensive teacher retooling that will continue for at least the next five years.
“Teachers must be grounded in integrating critical thinking, research, problem-solving and values without compromising academic depth, especially at upper-secondary level where specialisation is deeper,” Dr. Nambi said.
Mbale City Woman MP Connie Nakayenze reported disturbing accounts that the small number of already-trained teachers are charging untrained colleagues for the same training and, in some cases, deliberately withholding key information. “Many teachers in rural areas are still grappling; they don’t know what to do,” she said, urging the Ministry to use December–January holidays for regional training batches.
Kajara County MP Michael Timuzigu supported the call but insisted on built-in assessment. “After training, we must certify those who excel so they can become trainers of trainers during curriculum weeks,” he proposed.
Minister Ogwang welcomed the idea, saying it could be discussed at top management level as part of continuous professional development.
Kashari South MP Nathan Itungo pressed for exact figures: NCDC has so far trained 12,593 teachers, but without the total number of teachers nationwide, Parliament cannot measure effectiveness.
Minister Ogwang admitted the shortfall is purely financial: “If we had all the money, why wouldn’t we train all of them? The challenge is money.”
Kitagwenda Woman MP Dorothy Nyakato added that training alone is insufficient; the Ministry must conduct research to verify that trained teachers are actually delivering the new curriculum on the ground.
The newly established Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE), which took over National Teachers’ Colleges (NTCs) in 2024, presented the largest single request, UGX 79.8 billion, to achieve full operationalisation in 2026/27.
Principal Prof. Betty Ezati told the committee that ambiguity in the law and chronic underfunding have delayed complete integration of Primary Teachers’ Colleges (PTCs). UNITE has so far recruited only 92 staff (8.3 percent of establishment) and only 67 of 244 qualified NTC tutors.
The breakdown includes: UGX 35 billion to recruit 410 additional staff (reaching 50 percent staffing); UGX 140 million in living-out allowances for government-sponsored students; UGX 7 billion operational costs; UGX 6 billion for continuous professional development; UGX 2 billion research and community outreach; UGX 2.8 billion administrative support; UGX 5.7 billion for a new administration block, gate and parking; UGX 3.7 billion transport equipment (staff currently use personal vehicles); UGX 6 billion to remove asbestos roofing in phased renovations; UGX 2 billion furniture and UGX 6 billion ICT equipment.
In the current 2025/26 budget, UNITE received only UGX 23.9 billion (UGX 9.2 billion wage, UGX 11.6 billion non-wage, UGX 3 billion development), leaving a UGX 79.8 billion gap.
Across all three presentations, one message was consistent: without adequate funding, Uganda’s flagship competence-based education reform risks stalling. Accreditation will lag, monitoring will be patchy, teachers will remain unprepared, and the very institutions tasked with producing the next generation of educators will operate far below capacity.
Minister Ogwang captured the urgency: “These bodies need to get out and do their work. We must support them.”
***
URN
