RDCs ordered to crack down on ghost learners in UPE schools
Teachers conduct a headcount of pupils at Aweki-Paro Community Primary School in Amon-oneno, Abako Sub-county, Alebtong District, in March 2017, shortly before the school was taken over by the government following the construction of new classrooms by Kids of Africa.
What you need to know:
- “We were cautioned and redirected to find out the schools that are exaggerating the number of pupils and the number of teachers, just for extorting money from the government,” Ms Apio s
The government has directed Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) across the country to intensify oversight and crack down on the inflation of pupil enrolment numbers in Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools.
The directive, which follows increasing concerns over corruption and mismanagement of education funds, requires RDCs to carry out physical headcounts in all government-aided schools to verify the number of learners and teachers, and report any discrepancies to the Ministry of Education and Sports.
This announcement was made by Apac Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DDRC) Ms Joan Apio during an induction training for newly recruited head teachers of Apac Municipality on May 9. She revealed that the directive was issued during a recent two-week refresher course for RDCs at the National Leadership Training Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.
“We were cautioned and redirected to find out the schools that are exaggerating the number of pupils and the number of teachers, just for extorting money from the government,” Ms Apio said.
According to Ms Apio, some head teachers submit inflated enrolment figures to access more funding from capitation grants—a major source of financing for UPE and USE schools. She warned that head teachers found guilty of listing ghost learners or teachers will be arrested and prosecuted.
“Now that we have already warned them, we are going to each and every government school to physically count the number of pupils, students, and government-paid teaching staff,” she told Daily Monitor in a separate interview.
She added, “We shall begin this initiative in the first week of second term. Any school that lists more pupils than are physically present will not be spared. Head teachers found guilty will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Under the current funding structure, the government allocates Shs17,000–Shs20,000 per UPE pupil annually, Shs56,000 per student under O’Level USE, and Shs90,000 per student at A'Level. This funding supports instructional materials, school maintenance, co-curricular activities, and administration. However, with inflated numbers, schools unfairly receive more money than they are entitled to.
Mr Moses Otimong, the Apac Municipal Council Town Clerk, said the district is committed to improving the quality of education through capacity building and better teacher deployment. He explained that literacy and education are essential for Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
“It is the reason why Apac is doing well in the Lango Sub-region as a local government. Now, this time round, when we got a new breed of teachers, we decided to come up with a hands-on curriculum,” Mr Otimong said.
He revealed that the municipality recently recruited 34 new teachers and deployed them to 16 primary schools. In addition to professional training, the recruits were also equipped with financial literacy skills under the Parish Development Model.
“We need to improve the skills of our learners. When you focus on skilling learners, you must first skill the people who will champion that knowledge transfer,” he added.
Background on UPE and USE
The Universal Primary Education (UPE) program was launched in 1997 by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government to provide free primary education to all children. Since then, it has significantly increased access and enrolment, especially among girls and marginalized communities.
Ten years later, in 2007, the government introduced the Universal Secondary Education (USE) program to extend similar access to secondary education. USE has helped reduce financial barriers for economically vulnerable families by covering fees and learning materials.
Over the years, Uganda has made major investments in teacher training, education infrastructure, and curriculum reform. However, misuse of capitation grants through false enrolment remains a serious challenge that the government now seeks to address through stronger local oversight.
