City schools not to admit learners beyond 5KM

KAMPALA - In most urban areas across Uganda, it is common for parents or school vans to ferry children from one town to another in a quest for education. For instance, many parents from Wakiso district regularly drop off their children to Kampala schools on their way to work, despite the existence of schools closer to home. 

However, in one of the biggest reforms in education, the Government is set to ban the practice. 

Instead, day scholars at pre-primary, primary and secondary schools will study in schools near their homesteads. 

According to the policy directive enshrined in the National Development Plan Four (NDP IV), learners in day schools will have a limit of the journey within which they can go to school. 

“Children in day primary and secondary schools should attend the nearest schools to their homestead,” a section of the NDPIV reads. 

The NDPIV strategic direction was approved by Cabinet in March last year, and its implementation will start during the next financial year, 2025/2026. 

The policy directive is part of the eight key implementation reforms required to fully implement the human capital development programme and realise the intended goals in the next five years. 

The development of the NDPIV was based on the challenges highlighted in the NDPIII mid-term review assessment, the Uganda Vision 2040 and the Government Strategy to grow the economy 10-fold in the next 15 years. There were also inputs by experts and programme working groups at local, regional and global levels.

Details of the plan 

Under the plan, the policy directive is expected to start with urban areas which have equitable distribution of schools. However, as the Government continues to extend primary and secondary schools in parishes and sub-counties without, it will also reach the rural areas. 

A source familiar with the policy direction explained that there will be a radius of about 5km within which a day scholar will be allowed to study. 

This implies that a parent in Kyanja or Naalya will not be allowed to take a child to a school beyond Ntinda. Relatedly, a parent in Kitende or Bwebajja, will not take a child to Entebbe or Kampala.

This, the source said, will curb the practice of waking up children early for school. In addition, the source said, it will save parents the funds spent on school vans per term, which is one of the leading drivers of higher school fees. 

When asked about the quality of the schools in the respective areas, the source said: “The Government will have to be tough this time to ensure that all schools meet standards.” 

“Uganda will not be the first to adopt it. Even in the US, it is hard to leave one state to another for education, especially for day scholars,” the source added. 

“This policy on day scholars, will eliminate the chaos we see every morning and in evening when parents have to travel long distances to drop off or pick children. It will also save our children from the practice of waking up at 4:00am to go to school, which is harmful.” 

By studying near the homestead, the source said, learners will have adequate time to rest, as opposed to the current system where they barely sleep for five hours.

Teaching time  

A recent report by the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) highlighted that whereas the national primary schools’ curriculum has set 8:00am to 4:00pm as the official teaching time, pupils at primary level are being taught beyond eight hours a day. 

In addition, the report highlighted that the practice of teaching to “finish the curriculum”, was common across the country, with many schools utilising every available opportunity to teach. 

According to the report, the schools are not only teaching early mornings, evenings, over the weekend and public holidays, but also have reduced lunch or break time periods to conduct normal classes. 

“The challenge of children spending a lot of time at school is faced at all levels, including pre-primary, primary and secondary, leaving limited time for rest and relaxation. Beyond the long school hours, students are overwhelmed with heavy homework assignments that prioritise rote memorisation over practical, real-world learning,” the commission said. 

As part of its report on the reforms, EPRC recommended that the education ministry regulates and enforces instructional hours. 

According to the commission, nursery pupils should only spend four hours in school, primary school pupils seven hours and eight for secondary school students. 

In its report, the commission agreed that nursery school learners, primary school pupils and secondary school students should all report to school at 8:00am. 

However, the time at which the classes end differ, with learners in nursery schools recommended to return home at noon, whereas those in primary and secondary schools should end school at 3:00pm and 4:00pm, respectively. 

The commission, which was headed by former education minister Amanya Mushega, handed over its report recently to the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, at a function held at State House, Nakasero in Kampala. 

The findings and recommendations will be analysed and will later guide the country on the development and formulation of the new Education White Paper.

More in NDPIV 

As part of the NDPIV, the Government will introduce a minimum of one year of compulsory Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) training immediately after A’level. 

Under the programme, which will be delivered through the compulsory National Service Programme framework, Senior Six leavers will be required to enrol for TVET before joining university or college. 

The students will undertake the course for at least a year before progressing to the next level of education. 

The move is intended to ensure that the students are skilled and can join the world of work even thereafter. Relatedly, under the human capital development programme, public servants in the health and education sectors will not be allowed to operate private schools and health facilities. 

This is intended to address conflict of interest, absenteeism and theft of government stores by public servants, which are rampant now. In addition, all fees charged in public schools will go through the Uganda Revenue Authority to the consolidated fund.

Stakeholders weigh in 

Several stakeholders indicated that the plan on day scholars will be hard to implement in Uganda where schools are not evenly distributed. 

To some, the plan can only be implemented when all schools are of the same standard, have similar facilities and offer the same services. 

Frederick Mwesigye, the national co-ordinator of the forum for education NGOs in Uganda (FENU), a network of 100 civil society organisations in education, said: “It will be a challenge to implement such a restriction in education where we do not have an even number of schools per region or villages. The quality is not the same.” 

He added: “We have many parishes without primary schools. Demarcating schools will be a challenge.” Hasadu Kirabira, the national chairperson of National Private Education Institutions Association, said: “Such policies can only work when we have schools at the same level in terms of quality.” 

“We understand that by the time the Government presents such a policy, there is a reason. However, our only request is that they consult stakeholders before it is implemented. They should also consult parents,” he added.

A head teacher of a government school said in a country where private schools outnumber public ones, it will be hard to implement such a policy. 

“We have schools that charge fees and others (those under UPE and USE) that do not. In Kampala and Wakiso, there are places with just private schools and charge high fees. Restricting a parent to such an environment where they cannot afford the available options will be hard to implement,” the head teacher said.