President Yoweri Museveni, accompanied by First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni, on Thursday commissioned the Bunyoro Zonal Skilling Hub, reinforcing the government’s commitment to vocational education and youth empowerment.
During the inspection of various skilling initiatives at the facility, the President called on administrators to expand the range of programs offered to meet the growing demand for hands-on training. He said that vocational education remains a key pillar in Uganda’s economic transformation.
“As the demand for skilling programs rises, administrators must increase the number of courses available to equip more young people with practical skills that will drive Uganda’s development,” Museveni stated.
The commissioning of the hub comes at a time when the government is intensifying efforts to promote skills-based education as an alternative to traditional academic pathways. The initiative aims to empower youth with employable skills, reducing unemployment and enhancing productivity.
In his address, President Museveni also reiterated his strong stance against the imposition of fees by Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in government schools, warning that such charges undermine the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government’s Bonna Basome (Education for All) initiative.
“PTAs should stop levying fees in government schools. This practice is crippling the future of many children and derailing our goal of universal education,” Museveni cautioned.
While acknowledging the challenges schools face, the President called for dialogue on sustainable solutions rather than burdening parents with additional costs.
“Instead of forcing parents to pay fees, let us discuss what is lacking and find logical ways to address these issues,“ he added.
Despite the implementation of Universal Primary and Secondary Education, some government schools continue to charge unofficial fees, leading to high dropout rates among children from low-income families.
With President Museveni’s renewed call to enforce free education and boost vocational training, focus now shifts to how education administrators will implement these directives to ensure every Ugandan child has access to quality learning opportunities.
The NRM government instituted the Universal Primary Leaving (UPE) and the Universal Secondary Education(USE), with the sole aim of equiping all Ugandans with access to education, hence a rise in literacy levels.
The government currently offers a capitation grant for primary, ‘O’level and ‘A’ level learners under this system to ensure the schools function interms of utilities, administrative needs , maintenance among other expenses.
The government pays 20.ooo shillings for each learner in primary, 58,000 shillings for each student in ‘O’level and 98.000 shillings for each leaner in ‘A ‘ level.