The Government of Uganda is finalising negotiations with the World Bank for a new funding initiative to rehabilitate 160 traditional secondary schools across the country.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Ramathan Ggoobi, revealed this on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, while appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on the Budget.
“I would want you to assure the population that on education we are coming in a big way. We are finalising negotiations with the World Bank for a big project we are bringing under U-Learn where most schools will be rehabilitated,” said Ggoobi.
The U-Learn programme will complement the existing Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer Programme (U-GIFT), also funded by the World Bank. Ggoobi said the two initiatives are expected to significantly improve education infrastructure.
The U-GIFT programme, valued at US$300 million, targets the rehabilitation of 1,000 existing primary schools, alongside infrastructure development in the health and environment sectors.
Ggoobi was accompanied by the State Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, and other ministry officials. They were responding to MPs’ concerns about the draft budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.
Lawmakers raised alarm over longstanding unfunded education needs, particularly in rural areas.
Samuel Okwir (NRM, Moroto County) cited Akola Seeds Secondary School in Alebtong District, where students have studied under a tree since 2016.
“Government is not paying teachers because there is no allocation. What is the President going to tell people when he is standing on that ground on what he has done in the past five years, when the school has been under the tree, with no activity, no construction?” Okwir asked.
Annet Katusiime (NRM, Bushenyi District Woman MP) also urged the Ministry to address grant-aided schools in her district that have received no funding for over two years, despite being staffed with government teachers.
“There are schools that were taken up by government… but for the last two years, they have never been given money,” she said.
Kashari South County MP, Nathan Itungo, called for the reinstatement of funding to the Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE). He stressed that without funding, in-service and continuous teacher training programmes were at risk.
“Without the money to operationalise UNITE, we are going to have issues with Primary Teachers Colleges and National Teachers Colleges currently doing nothing,” Itungo said. “Without free education, which is the message of the President, without teachers being trained, what are we doing?”
The Ministry pledged to prioritise education infrastructure and teacher development under its ongoing budget planning and partnerships.
