Filbert Baguma, the Secretary General of Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) has urged the government to invest in pre-primary education to ensure a strong foundation in the education systems.

While speaking on NTV Uganda on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, on issues concerning the education system, Baguma said that, all countries with the best education systems have invested in pre-primary schools.

“We need to be realistic. All countries with the best education systems have invested in pre-primary schools. If you want to build a strong building, you have to ensure a strong foundation. Governments should invest in pre-primary education so that parents have a place to start from,” Baguma said.

Baguma noted that, children have a right to an education and that the government and parents have a responsibility to provide for the needs of their citizens’ education.

“Education is the right of children, and the duty of educating citizens lies in the hands of the government and parents. Private schools should understand that education is not a commodity you buy in a market it is not an investment where you plan to accumulate a certain amount of money. Education is a service,” Baguma stressed.

He also noted that enforcing minimum regulatory standard is very difficulty because shops and residential homes are turned into schools.

“These days, you find former shops or residential homes turned into schools, and this has made enforcing minimum regulatory standards difficult. You close a school in the morning, and by lunchtime, it’s operating again. When you ask why, the owner tells you, ‘It’s an order from above,” Baguma added.

He said that, in order to start a school, one must have infrastructure, undergo a health inspection to determine if the location is suitable for student learning, and also one must also have qualified teachers and furniture.

“To start a school, you must have infrastructure, undergo a health inspection to determine if the location is suitable for student learning. You can’t just have a room and start a school. You must also have qualified teachers and furniture,” Baguma noted.

However, according to Denis Mugimba, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, one needs to understand that, our education system is that Uganda has two different players operating under different sets of rules that is the public and private sector.

Mugimba stated that, regulation is not about fee reduction, rather it is about establishing what is and is not permissible when levying fees.

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in Uganda, only a tenth of children between the age of 3 and 5 are enrolled in formal pre-primary education. Most pre-primary schools are privately run and located in urban areas.

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is essential for a full and fruitful existence as well as for the advancement of a country.