President Museveni Champions Free Education and Empowerment of Women
By The Public Lens
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reiterated his commitment to providing free education for all in government schools, emphasizing the need for affordable education for all Ugandans.
Addressing the Mothers Union Buganda conference at Timnah schools in Luwero district on Sunday, September 1st, 2024, President Museveni shared his personal experience in elite schools, highlighting the challenges of accessing education.
“Our strategy was, how can we provide affordable education for all Ugandans because the schools we went to were schools for the elite where we had to pay money in the primary, in the junior schools and senior secondary. Those years the schools were few and the government was paying for us in the university,” he said.
President Museveni called for stakeholders to support the implementation of free education, citing the benefits of day schools as a cost-effective solution.
“If we want all our children to study, we can no longer use the old method. The biggest saving was to go from the boarding schools to day schools in primary and senior secondary schools so that you cut out the cost of accommodation, feeding, paying for utilities and others,” he noted.
He emphasized that the government’s strategy requires setting up necessary infrastructure, including classrooms, computer libraries, science laboratories, houses for teachers, and paying teachers.
“This means once this is done, the parents remain with only buying the school uniform for the child and providing lunch. Once we have a strategy which can work, we are saying that day schools are the only way the government can afford to educate everybody because they’re cheaper for the government,” President Museveni explained.
He highlighted the challenges of continuous charging of fees in government schools, leading to increased school dropouts.
“For example, we have 11 million children in primary schools, but by the time they join secondary school, they are only 2 million. Now, where are the 9 million children who are not in school? We need to have a consensus. Our proposal is to have UPE and USE government schools as day schools so that the government can concentrate on the infrastructure, paying teachers and so on,” President Museveni said.
In addition to education, President Museveni encouraged Ugandans to take advantage of government programs aimed at fighting poverty, such as the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“For every parish, we’re sending Shs100 million every year, which means Shs500 million in 5 years. This is a lot of money. And the idea is that you borrow and return after 24 months (2 years) and finish the loan in 36 months. So that if it was coffee, you would have started harvesting. Whatever you would have grown would have started reaping. And all of you come from a parish somewhere but many of you don’t mind to follow up what’s happening,” he said.
First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni, congratulated the Mothers Union for their efforts in promoting positive parenting and advocating against teenage pregnancies and child marriages.
“God has honoured us with the mandate to raise children in His ways, as we instill in them Christian values, while equipping them with the necessary skills, to live socially and economically sustainable lives, within their communities. This is why this very relatable Conference theme drawn from 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 is timely,” Maama Janet said.
She encouraged mothers to prioritize their needs and promised to support their projects.
The conference, attended by women from six dioceses of Buganda region, focused on the importance of hard work, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy in achieving sustainable development.
The event also included a health camp, which provided breast and cervical cancer screening, general body check-ups, and distribution of Maama kits and mosquito nets.
President Museveni pledged to support the Mothers Union with a coaster bus and Shs 500 million to support their projects.
The Mothers Union Buganda is a Christian faith-based organisation made up of six Dioceses, aiming to raise Christian women in faith and guide each other to transform their lives spiritually, economically, physically, and socially.
