1.1.

Education System in Uganda

Ugandas education
system has been in
place since the
early 1960s. It
consists of seven
years of primary
education
following which
students have a
wide range of
options for both
public and private
education
institutions
depending on their
aptitude, ambitions
and resources. The
current education
system is shown in
Figure 1. It should
be noted that
although, the preprimary level is not
mentioned, some
primary schools
especially those in
urban setting only
admit children who
have undergone 1-3
years of education
at this level and the
Ministry of
Education and
Sports is also
beginning to
regulate this level by standardizing its curriculum. Primary education, however, is still
considered the first level of formal education in which pupils follow a common basic
curriculum. This is followed by a secondary cycle of six years (four at lower secondary and
two and higher secondary) before proceeding to university education for three to five years
depending on the duration of the course offered. On successful completion of primary
school, the pupils can go either for secondary education; or take a three-year crafts course in
technical schools. Those completing Uganda Certificate of Education have four possible
outlets: successful candidates can either proceed for an advanced certificate of education;
join a two-year advanced crafts course in technical institutes; join a two-year grade III
primary teaching programme; or join any of the government's departmental programmes

such as agriculture, health, veterinary, and cooperatives.

After the completion of the advanced certificate of education the students can either:
proceed to university; join a two-year course leading to ordinary diploma in teacher
education, technical education; business studies or join departmental programmes.
As at end of 2010, gross enrolment at primary was 8,645,583 pupils with girls accounting
for more than 50 percent (i.e.4,326,013 pupils). During the same period, 519,246 candidates
sat for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), an increase of 8% on the number who sat in
2009. The transition rate to senior one for 2010 was 64.5%, implying that not all who
finished primary level of education in 2009 proceeded to secondary. At the secondary level,
the transition rate to senior 5 was even lower, i.e. at 50.7%. There were 264,635 candidates
who sat their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) Examinations after four years of
education at this level, over 46,000 students more than the number that sat in 2009. The
next level in secondary is the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (also sometimes
referred to as Higher School Certificate). In 2010, 98,219 candidates sat for the Uganda
Advanced Certificate of Education, an increase of 10% over the number that sat in 2009.
The transition rate at this level is about 35%, implying that only about 35,000 are able to
join university education.
There are currently, 32 universities in Uganda all accounting for a student population of
about 110,000, turning out over 30,000 graduates annually. Makerere University alone
accounts for over 30% of this total. There are also technical and commercial business
colleges that enroll another 20,000 students studying various disciplines, some of these are
of particular relevance to the needs and development of the private sector. For instance,
Technical colleges enroll about 2,000 offering disciplines such as metal works/foundry;
carpentry, ICT skills, hotel and tourism, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry; etc. There are
efforts currently geared at fostering cooperation between the training institutions and the
private sector which will ensure that courses and graduates are relevant to the need of the
private sector.
1.2. Government Plans and Priorities in the Education Sector
The government of Uganda attaches great importance to improvement of education services
since education plays a vital role in promoting sustainable development through improving
the peoples skills as well as raising awareness on various issues of national importance
including improving general standards of living. There has been a remarkable change in this
sector over the past years, especially since the inception of the Universal Education
Programmes. More schools, institutions, colleges and universities have been established;
and enrolments in all these institutions have exponentially increased. The private sector
participation in the education sector has also been remarkable to the extent that education is
increasingly being seen as an export sector.
Current national priorities, as stipulated in policy documents issued by the Ministry of
Education and Sports, include: i) Provision of Universal Primary and Secondary Education (UPE and USE);
ii) Sensitization of the population about UPE and USE in order that communities fully

participate in their implementation;

iii) Provision of construction materials for primary and secondary schools and tertiary
institutions in a progressive manner;
iv) Improvement of Teacher Training Programmes and rehabilitation of Teachers Colleges;
v) Making the Teacher central in the education system by creating a well trained, facilitated
and disciplined teacher;
vi) Improving the teaching of science, mathematics, technical and technology education at
all levels;
vii) Vocationalisation of the curriculum through a systematic introduction at all levels staff
development programmes;
viii) Review and reform of the examination in order to incorporate continuous assessment;
and
ix) Implementation of strategies that will redress the existing imbalances i.e. gender,
geographical, social, or otherwise as well as the disparities in education standards and
performance throughout the education system in general and primary and secondary
education in particular.
2. Products/Services in the education Sector
The products or services offered/produced by the education system in Uganda are
determined by its quality as seen by the various stakeholders. The ultimate aim is to equip
the population with skills relevant for sustainable development. Currently, the minimum
standards are set in the UN millennium development goals (MDGs) where government
annual reports/statistics usually assess where Uganda is in terms of these MDGs. For the
case of education, Ugandas progress towards MDGs is as summarized Table 1 which
shows that Uganda is on the path to attainment of the MDGs as targeted by year 2015.
Some of the targets shall even be attained earlier than 2015.
At each level of the education system, Uganda produces a number of graduates but the
numbers are reducing as one goes up the formal system due to varied reasons. For instance
at primary education level as of 2010, there were 8,645,583 pupils enrolled with about
520,000 sitting the Primary Leaving Examinations in that year. At the secondary level, the
number of candidates who sat their senior four examinations out of a total enrolment of
about 650,000 was about 137,000. As one goes higher the ladder the number of graduates
decreases. Finally, at the tertiary level, the total enrolment is about 130,000 with university
enrolment accounting for about 71 percent of this. The positive government policies are
encouraging more participation of the private sector in the provision of education services,
the above trends of enrolment will grow positively.

1.2. Table 1: Ugandas Progress in the MDGs attainment.

Source: Statistical Abstract 2010, Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS)

3. Education Sector Outlook

3.1. Status and performance at each level
3.1.1. The Universal Primary Education (UPE) Policy
The Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) recommended that Universal Primary
Education (UPE) for the entire primary cycle be achieved by the year 2010. The policy
objectives of providing UPE include, among others: Making basic education accessible to the learners and relevant to their needs as well as
meeting national goals;
Making education equitable in order to eliminate disparities and inequalities;
Establishing, providing and maintaining quality education to promote national human
resource development;
Initiating a fundamental positive transformation of society in the social, economic and
political field;
Ensuring that education is affordable by the majority of Ugandans by providing, initially
the minimum necessary facilities and resources, and progressively the optimal facilities; and

 Enable every child to enter and remain in school until they complete the primary education
cycle.
Consequently in 1997, Universal Primary Education (UPE) was implemented with the
intent of broadening access to primary schooling, largely through reducing the costs of
schooling. The effects of implementing UPE were dramatic. The primary school enrolment
which was about 3.1 million in 1996 rose to 5.2 million in 1997, an increase y about 68%.
Table 2 shows the primary school enrolment and other indicators at this level from 2005 to
2009. The number of schools, as well as the number of teachers continued to increase over
the years. Between 2005 and 2009, there was an increase of 3,551 schools representing
about 21% increase or an average increase of 710 schools per year. The ratio of pupils to
teachers has remained almost constant at about 50 pupils per teacher during the period
2005-2009. This indicates more contact between pupils and teachers, hence improvement in
quality. The ratio of pupils per classroom has also continued to fall from 74 pupils per
classroom in 2005 to 68 pupils per classroom in 2009.
Table 2: Trend of Key Primary Education Indicators in Uganda: 2005-2009

Source: Statistical Abstract 2010, Uganda Bureau of Statistics

Of the 17,127 primary schools registered by the Ministry of Education as of December 2009,
about 72% were
owned by
government, which is
a drop by almost 10%
of the 2006 figures. In
2006, government
owned schools
accounted for 81%.
This is an indication
that the private sector
involvement since
2006 has intensified.
Correspondingly,
school ownership by

the community has also decreased from 11% in 2006 to 5% as of 2009. Overall, government still
has greater control at this level of education owing to its policy of enabling all school going age
at this level to be in school. In terms of funding at this level, government is also shouldering a
bigger percentage of schools whereby in 2009, it was providing funding to 69% of the schools
(11,800 schools) as well as partial support to another 3% of schools (i.e. 491 schools), a
reduction by 74 schools from 2006 level. Figure 2, gives a diagrammatic presentation of the level
of government support to schools as at year end 2009.
3.1.2. Secondary Education
This level has witnessed unprecedented growth rates by over 19% over the last 5 years in the
enrolment of students, but yet to attain the necessary capacity to cope with the large numbers of
primary school leavers. The Table 3 shows the key indicators at secondary education level where
the enrolment increased from 728,393 in 2005 to 1,194,454 at end of 2009. The tremendous
increase is attributable to the introduction of the universal secondary education in 2007. As of
2010, a total of 264,635 candidates sat the Uganda Certificate of Education Examinations, with
104,000 of them registering under the Universal Secondary Education scheme. However, it is
still seen that during the academic year 2010, there were 519,246 pupils who sat primary seven
leaving examinations vying for about 300,000 places available at senior one. This indicates that
if all candidates sitting their primary leaving examinations manage to qualify for the next level of
education, then only 57% of them can be absorbed for secondary education which calls for
additional investments at this level by both government and the private sector.
Table 3: Trend of Key Secondary Education Indicators in Uganda: 2005-2009

Source: Statistical Abstract 2010, Uganda Bureau of Statistics

Of the 3,149 secondary schools registered by the Ministry of Education as of December 2009,
69% were owned by others (i.e. by the

private sector and the

community). Government is only owning about 31% but in terms of funding, 24% of the schools
were wholly supported by government, see Figure 3. This is an indication that the private sector
is increasingly taking over the operations and running of the affairs of secondary education. The
introduction of Universal Secondary Education (USE), has not changed this picture either, since
the role of the other actors who are not government is still seen to be bigger.

3.1.3. Tertiary Education

At this level, there are various institutions that absorb students after senior six. These institutions
are: universities and their affiliates (currently 32 in number); teacher colleges (numbering 9);
technical colleges; health colleges; management & social development institutions; business
colleges; theological colleges; hotels & tourism training institutes; media and communications
training centres; agricultural, forestry & fisheries colleges; meteorology; and aeronautical school,
among others. As of 2010, altogether there were about 100,000 students who sat their Uganda
Advanced Certificate of Education examinations in order to join these tertiary education
institutions. This number is a remarkable drop from the 264,000 that sat the Uganda Certificate
of Education (senior four) examinations of the same year which was also still a further drop from
the 520,000 candidates who sat their primary leaving examinations in 2010. All these indicate
that investment opportunities for expansion are prevalent at the tertiary education level for the
private sector to take advantage of. Statistics at this level of education also indicate that the
education quality indicators for most institutions are good.
In total, enrolment at tertiary level was 155,082 students as at 2009 with universities accounting
for 69% of this total. Of the
total university enrolment
of 107,729, Makerere
University alone accounted
for 31%. It is also
interesting to note that a lot
of foreign students from
neighbouring countries are
attending tertiary education
in Uganda and these
accounted for 9% of total
enrolment at various
universities during the
same period. This situation
is helped by the
government liberal policy
of allowing the private
sector to drive growth in
the economy in general and
in the education sector in
particular. Figure 4 shows the share of universities by ownership type where presently the private
sector owns about 69% of the total university establishments in Uganda and the public sector
accounts for only 31%. This trend where private investment is dominant is expected to grow with
the liberalization of the sector.
However, in terms of students enrolment the public institutions still account for a bigger
percentage as depicted in Figure 5 where 56% of total enrolment at tertiary level is still with
public institutions and the rest is accounted for by the private sector.

3.1.4. Vocational Education Training Policy

The current government policy on technical education and Vocational Education Training (VET)

aims at: Introduction of changes necessary to create a favorable environment for industrial training,
improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency in public training;
Provision of training by employers and the private sector;
Changing the negative attitudes towards technical and vocational education programmes;
Integrating technical and business/or entrepreneurial skills to enable students to enter selfemployment;
Provision of at least one vocational secondary school in every district; and
Vocationalisation of both primary and secondary education system to ensure provision of
useful and employable skills at the end of each stage of the educational cycle.
3.2. Employment trends in the sector
In order to gauge the level of employment of education sector in the economy, the areas to
consider include: learning institutions like schools and tertiary training institutions; regulators
like Ministry of Education, among others.
Household surveys conducted in 2002/03 and 2005/06 indicate that agriculture still accounted for
the biggest proportion of employment in the economy. Educations share of total employment
was 2.8% in 2002/03 and in 2005/06 it slightly decreased to 2.5% as shown in the Table 4. Total
labour force during this period increased from 9.8 million persons in 2002/03 to 10.9 million
persons in 2005/06 according to the Uganda National Household Surveys. At 2.6%, the
education sector employs over 270,000 people in Uganda, ranking fourth overall in the economy.

Table 4: Employment by Broad Categories:

In terms of expenditure, education ranked high, as 3rd overall, in the share of household
expenditures as is illustrated in Table 5.
Table 5: Percent Share of Household Expenditure by Item Groups:

3.3. Education contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP

Education activities decreased by 0.5 percent in Financial Year (FY) 2009/10 compared to an
increase of 4.3 percent
witnessed during
FY2008/09. The sector
contributed 5.3 percent
to the total GDP at
current prices in
2009/10. At least for the
last 5 years, education
contribution to the GDP
has been above 5%,
making education the
6th largest sector of
Ugandan economy by
economic activity after
Agriculture,
Construction,

Manufacturing, Wholesale/Retail, Real Estates, and Transport/Communications. Figure 5 shows

the contribution of education sector and its growth rates during the last five years. In Financial
Year (FY)2006/07, the rates of growth of education were higher than those of the GDP reaching
a peak of over 10.6% before declining to negative in FY2007/2008. However, the education
sector contribution to the GDP has remained fairly constant at about 5% between 2006 and 2010.
4. Key Strengths (Competitive Factors) of Ugandas Education Systems
A number of competitive strengths characterize the education system in Uganda. Notable ones
are:
Quality of education at all levels is high and keeps improving. Education Standards Agency
developed quality indicators, e.g. monitoring of learning attainment in lower primary, HIV/AIDS
in schools, and health training institutions.
Uganda has a low cost of students maintenance due to the lower cost of living in the region.
Excellent curricula and demand driven unique courses.
Competitive and affordable tuition fees.
English is used as a medium of instruction/teachings at all levels of the education system as
opposed to the neighbouring countries in the region where two or more languages are used for
instruction concurrently.
High moral values inculcated at all levels of the education of system.
Ugandans are very friendly people making acclimatization of foreign students very easy within
a minimum time period.
Ugandan teachers/instructors are already involved with number of institutions in the region,
hence knowledgeable of the training needs of the region.
5. Workforce skills and availability of special skills
The education sector is resourced with a number of skills at various levels. As of 2009, at the
primary education level, there were 168,000 teachers with various qualifications: Doctorate
degrees (20); Masters degrees (125); Postgraduate Diplomas (123); Graduates 2496, etc. These
numbers have increased steadily from the 2006 levels to match the quality parameters For
instance, in 2006, there were 1,627 graduates teaching in primary schools and only 9 PhD and 73
masters degree teachers respectively at this level. At the secondary level as of 2006, there were
42,673 teachers with various qualifications but by end of 2009, the number had shot up to 65,045
teachers, an increase of almost 35% in a spate of 3 years.
At the tertiary level as at end 2009, there were over 7,000 academic staff comprising of both fulltime and part-time lecturers with various skills, qualifications and disciplines. The categories of
academic attainment were as follows: PhD (815); Maters degrees (2,901); Bachelors (1,240);
Postgraduate Diplomas (224); Diplomas (703), among others. Most of the training institutions
have own staff development programmes to cope with the ever increasing number of students so
as to maintain the quality standards of student/lecturer ratios. Government also has a number of
training programmes with development partners in critical areas of the economy where the
various tertiary institutions can benefit from in order to upgrade their staff skills and numbers.

6. Licenses Required for Operation in the sector

6.1. Licensing Requirements /Procedures
6.1.1. Primary, Secondary and Post-secondary education (not tertiary/higher education)
Outlined below are the existing approval procedures and regulations for licensing and
registration of a new private school or institution. (Attached in Appendix 1 is a copy of the
assessment form that all investors intending to set up an educational institution are required to
fill out by the Ministry of Education and Sports).
a) The intending proprietor makes known his or her intention to start a School to the
Commissioner for Education and seeks his or her permission to do so in writing.
b) The Commissioner for Education writes back acknowledging receipt and granting or
disallowing permission.
c) The Proprietor receives application forms for license from the District Education Office.
d) The District Inspector of Schools and the District Health Inspector inspect the intended School
and attach detailed reports.
e) The District Education Officer forwards three copies of the application forms to the
Commissioner for Education (Inspectorate) Ministry of Education and Sports.
f) The Commissioner for Education Inspectorate basing on either reports or recommendations
from the district or a report following a physical inspection by the Central Inspectorate to the
Commissioner for Education who approves or rejects the application for license.
g) If approval granted, the Commissioner for Education approves and awards a license to last one
year, copied to the Commissioner for Education (Inspectorate), District Education Officer,
District Inspector of Schools and the Head-teacher.
h) About one or two months to the expiry of the one year license, the proprietor collects forms
for registration providing details showing that the School is now fully established and meets the
minimum requirements.
i) The District Inspector of Schools re-inspects the said school for registration.
j) The District Education Officer recommends to the Commissioner for Education (Inspectorate)
the School for Registration.
k) The Commissioner for Education (Inspectorate) using information and documents attached on
to the application form, or a report based on physical inspection of the School by the Central
Inspectorate, may reject the application and give reasons for doing so to the proprietor, or
recommend to the Commissioner for Education the award of a Registration and Classification
number.
l) All licenses and registration certificates are entered in the relevant registers kept by the
Commissioner for Education. Applications for license will be dealt with between June-December
preceding the year of operation.
m) A School may be de-licensed or de-registered in cases of non-compliance with the regulations
governing the operations of private schools in accordance with the Education Act (1970) by the
Commissioner for Education.

6.1.2. Higher Education

The National Council for Higher Education is a statutory agency, a watchdog for quality and
relevant higher education established under The Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions
Act, 2001 for:
(a) regulating and guiding the establishment and management of institutions of higher learning,
and
(b) regulating the quality of higher education, equating of higher education qualifications and to
advise government on higher education issues.
The other functions of the National Council for Higher Education are: to advise the Minister of
Education on higher education issues; to establish an accreditation system (and do the
accrediting); to investigate higher education complaints; to evaluate national manpower
requirements; to set national admission standards; to ensure that institutions of higher learning
have adequate physical structures (and education facilities), to publish information on higher
education, to determine equivalences of academic and professional awards and credits between
institutions as well as tertiary education policy formation.
7. Quality Standards and Regulation of the Education Sector
7.1 Ministry of Education and Sports
The Ministry of Education and Sports is responsible for providing for, supporting, guiding,
coordinating, regulating and promoting quality education and sports to all persons in Uganda for
national integration, individual and national development. It is responsible for setting national
policy and monitoring the standard of education in various institutions of learning both public
and private.
7.2 Education Service Commission
The Education Service Commission is responsible for the recruitment of teachers into
Government service and reviewing their terms and conditions of service. The mandate of the
commission also covers private institutions. The Commission is empowered to discipline
teachers for any misconduct.
7.3 National Curriculum Development Center
The mission of the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) is to initiate, develop,
monitor and evaluate existing and new curricula for primary, secondary, technical, vocational
and tertiary levels of education. The Center is also responsible for supervision of the Population
and Family Life Education (POP/FLE) Project; the Science and Technology Equipment
Production Unit (STEPU) as well as the Project for the Integration of Environmental Education
in Primary Schools in East Africa (PEEPSEA).

7.4 Uganda National Examination Board

Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) was set up as an independent professional
examinations authority, within the umbrella of the Ministry of Education. It is semi-autonomous
corporate body with its own board. The main function of UNEB is to conduct national
examinations at various levels, where the following certificates are awarded to the successful
candidates:
Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) Certificate
Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) Ordinary Level
Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) Advanced Level
Uganda Business Education Examinations Certificate and Diplomas (BEE)
Uganda Technical Education Certificates, Diplomas and Higher Diplomas (UTE)
Uganda Junior Technical Certificates (UJTC).
7.5. Joints Admissions Board
The Board is responsible for admitting students to tertiary education, more especially to the
public institutions. This helps in setting minimum points for joint admission and to avoid double
admission of students to different institutions at the same time, thereby blocking placements.
7.6. National Council of Higher Education (NCHE)
Under sections 123 and 128 of the Act, the following regulations are in force for effective
management and enforcement of standards at the tertiary education level:
Statutory Instruments No. 80 (2005) Establishment and Operation of Private Universities and
Private Tertiary Institutions.
Statutory Instruments No 80 B A: Checklist of Quality and Universities Capacity Indicators for
Assessment of Universities and Programmes
Statutory Instruments No 80 C : Application for a provisional licence to Establish and Operate
a Private University
Statutory Instruments No. 85 (2005): Institutional Standards
Statutory Instruments No. 61 (2007): Letters of Interim Authority for Private Universities and
Provisional Licence for Private Other Degree Awarding Institutions
Statutory Instruments No. 1 (2007): Naming of Universities, Other Degree Awarding
Institutions.
Statutory Instruments No. 62 (2007): Equating of degrees, diplomas and certificates
Statutory Instruments No 63 (2007): Minimum Entry requirements for admissions to
Universities or Other tertiary Institutions
Statutory Instruments No 34 (2008): the Universities and other tertiary institutions (Quality
Assurance) Regulations, 2008
Statutory Instruments No 35 (2008): the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions (Basic
Requirements and Minimum Standards for Procurement Education and training) Regulations,
2008

8 Specific Sector incentives relevant to the education sector

Ugandas incentive package provides generous capital recovery terms, particularly for investors
whose projects entail significant investment in plant and machinery and whose investments are
likely to yield profits over the long term. For the education sector, the following specific
incentives may apply:
i. Under Value Added Tax Statute (1996), education services are treated as an exempt supply.
This means that education services are not subject to VAT. Qualifying education services under
the VAT Statute include: a) A pre-primary, primary or secondary school;
b) A technical college or university;
c) An institution established for the promotion of adult education, vocational training, technical
education, or the education or training of physically or mentally handicapped persons.
ii. Education materials such as textbooks and laboratory equipment are zero-rated, which means
that investors in the education sector can claim for a refund from Government of any VAT that
they pay on inputs (items purchased as education materials).
iii. To encourage interest in ICT and in computer, government has removed all forms of taxes on
computers to make them affordable to users in the country.
For other general incentives you may find them are: www.ugandainvest.com/incentives.
9. Key Export markets (potentials)
9.1. Characteristics of education supply at each level
The education sector in Uganda is one of the most robust, with good export potential. This
involves institutions at all levels but most especially secondary and tertiary levels. Due to the
liberalization programme in the sector witnessed in the 1990s, the private sector participation has
been encouraged in the education sector. The sector has thus proactively attracted sizeable
proportions of international students contributing to national export earnings (approximately
US$30 million in 2005) through cross border mode of supply. In 2006, foreign student enrolment
in tertiary institutions in Uganda reached 12,930 studying various courses in both public and
private institutions. The overall population of international students can reach over 30,000 for
combined
secondary and
tertiary enrolment.

The primary and

secondary
education
enrolment by
foreigners tends to
be largely driven
by parents who
come and stay in
Uganda, mainly by
their virtue of their
job placements.

The accompanying children then enlist in good quality schools whose curricula and facilities are
acceptable to parents. In the tertiary institutions, the enrolment tends to be driven by the
students quest for good, affordable and competitive schools in the region. By end of December
2010, the Ministry of Education and Sports indicated that private investment was highest in
secondary education as shown in the Figure 7. The private sector owned about 58% of the
secondary schools in 2009 compared to 47% in 2006. Over time, it is likely that the increase in
the number of schools will be largely propelled by the enlistment of the private sector investment
in the education sector.
Although government owns about 30% of the secondary schools, it founded one of the least
numbers of schools which stood at 5%. The

entrepreneurs
founded the highest number of school at 32% as at end of 2010 compared to 28.6% in 2006
followed by the Catholic Church and Church of Uganda (COU). The Parents also ranked high
(i.e. 14%) in founding secondary schools in the country whose figure stood at 16% in 2010.
The proportion of schools founded by the entrepreneurs increased from 29% in 2006 to 32% in
2009 while those founded by the Catholic Church and Church of Uganda respectively reduced by
1% and 1.8%. Figure 8 depicts that more and more categories other than government continue to
found more secondary schools as they view these ventures as profitable business cases for
investment in the education system. The entrepreneurs will continue to dominate this sector for
the foreseeable future as long as the policies continue to encourage private sector investment.

9.2. Education demand by foreign students

Recent studies estimate the global market trend for higher education services at US$30 billion.
World leaders in export of education services include: the USA, UK and Australia, etc. Ugandas
education sector attracts students mostly from neigbouring countries. In 2005 for instance,
Uganda attracted 20,716 students from Kenya, 5,211 from Tanzania, 2,457 from the Sudan,
1,228 from Rwanda and 2,435 from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other countries are:
Burundi, Zambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameron, Somalia, and India. The EAC and the COMESA
regions are therefore the major sources of foreign students to Uganda. Table 5 below shows the
distribution of foreign students amongst the major tertiary institutions (mainly universities) in
Uganda as at end of 2007. There were about 13,000 students registered for studies at the tertiary
institutions with Kampala International University having the largest share.
Table 5: Distribution of Foreign Students in some of Ugandas Universities as at 2007

Some of the courses that have attracted foreign students in both the major private and public
universities include: Laws; Medicine & Surgery; Pharmacy; Agriculture, Tourism; Computer
Science & Information Technology; Engineering; Commerce; Theology, Education; and
International Studies. Further, Uganda has some of the best schools accredited by the Council of
International Schools and the New England association of schools and colleges with examination
centres for popular Cambridge examinations like: IGCSE, GCSE, etc.
10. Investment Opportunities
10.1. Primary Education
Ugandas success in expanding primary education with more than doubling primary school
enrollment from about 3.5 million in 1997 to over 8 million by the end of 2010 has created
enormous investment opportunities for private investors in the post-primary education levels.
The number of pupils who sat their primary leaving examinations in 2010 were 520,000 yet less
than a half of them are expected to be admitted to senior one in 2011 due to lack of space and

other facilities. This level calls for more investments to be able to cope with the numbers of
pupils benefitting from the Universal Primary Education programme.
10.2. Secondary Education
Currently, there are about 3,149 secondary schools, an increase by 38% in three years which is
an indication that there enormous opportunities for expansion at this level. The absorption
capacity in secondary schools at the moment is less than 200,000 students, which is less than half
the number of pupils leaving primary school. The same thing applies to the advanced level where
the number that graduates at senior four is more than what the senior five in-takes can handle.
All these demand supply gaps call for investments which the private sector can take advantage
of.
10.3 Technical and Vocational Education
Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions play a vital role in the
absorption of primary and secondary school graduates who for one reason or another may not
make it to the next level of formal education. The private sector has become very active in this
area but there is still room for more secondary schools and technical colleges. Besides secondary
education, there is also a growing demand for tertiary education (especially Technical Education)
in Uganda needed to match the rapidly growing economic development of the country and also
to absorb those who opt out of the formal education. Specifically, there is an acute demand for
skills training in industry related skills i.e. welding and metal fabrication, carpentry and joinery,
printing, motor vehicle mechanics, basic maintenance of industrial plant and machinery,
electrical installation works, plumbing, masonry and concrete works etc.
10.4. In-Service Specialized Training Programmes
Local firms have an interest in identifying specific forms of training that will benefit them in
achieving their goals of among others; maximizing profits and increasing their market share
through increased sales. Opportunities, therefore, exist with respect to the provision of
specialized education and/or skills to redress the imbalance of availability of unskilled or semiskilled labour versus managerial and technical experts.
10.5. Agricultural Services and Skills Development
With the privatization of the provision of agricultural services, there is potential for investment
in training programmes that are demand driven i.e. providing skills that suit the manpower needs
of the labour market. According to the Uganda National Household Survey conducted in
2005/06, agriculture share of total labour force has risen from 65% in 2002/03 to 73% in 2005/06
implying that more and more people are getting employment in agricultural related ventures like
crop and animal husbandry, land management, artificial insemination, horticulture (vegetables,
fruits, and flowers), fish farming, silkworm rearing, ostrich farming and bee keeping. This calls
for specialized skills training at various level of the industry chain which the private sector could
take advantage of.

10.6. Managerial Skills Development

The revival of economic activity brought about by the expansion of the private sector through the
Governments privatization and liberalization policies and the decentralization policy of
Government, has created a demand for people with specialized management skills at all levels.
Potential areas to be targeted include project planning and management, human resource
management, small business management, finance and accounting, hotel management etc.
10.7. Development of Computer Skills
Due to the great technological innovations being made in personal and business application
software, hardware and the anticipated impact of the Internet on daily life, many individuals and
businesses are finding themselves overwhelmed with the possibilities and opportunities these
new business tools offer. Companies are finding a need to have their employees trained in the
use of these tools and also job seekers find that they need to have computer knowledge before
they can be considered for jobs.
10.8. Investment in tertiary level of education
There are enormous opportunities for investment at the tertiary education level especially in
establishing quality universities in view of the fact that there are so many students who qualify to
join university education but unable due to the limited space available with the current
establishments. Due to affordable and relevant education curriculum in Uganda, a lot of foreign
students from the region are already studying in Uganda and this calls for more investments to
expand the current facilities. Application forms for licenses: forms can be obtained from:
http://www.unche.or.ug/application.php.
10.9. Investment in pre-primary level of education
Of all the 2,469 schools under this category as of 2010, 75% of them are owned by the private
sector and the rest by the community. Government currently does not own any pre-primary
school although increasingly it is getting interested in standardizing its curriculum. With most
primary schools giving admission preference to pupils who have attended pre-primary, the
number of pre-primary schools will closely follow those of the primary schools overtime.
Opportunities for investment are abound in this segment of education.

Appendix 1: Useful Contacts for Institutions

Appendix 2: Education Institutions in Uganda, Enrollment and Staffing

Appendix 3 - Assessment Form for Licensing and Registration of Private Schools

Appendix 4: Recognized Higher Institutions 2010

Part A: Public Universities

Part B: Private Universities

Part C: Private University Colleges

Part D: Public Degree Awarding Tertiary Institutions

Code Name of Institution Address/ Location Founding Body District Commencement Date
331001 Uganda Management Institute Plots 44-52, P.O. Box 20131 Kampala Government
Kampala 1969
LDU 001 Law Development Centre Kampala Government Kampala
Part E: Chartered Private Universities in Uganda
The dates below are when the President granted the Charters to the respective Private
Universities

Part F: Recognized Private Tertiary Institutions