Uganda has registered more than 9.1 million learners in primary schools, with girls slightly outnumbering boys, according to findings from the maiden Baseline Education Census (BEC) 2025 released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).
The census, conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports, paints a picture of significant expansion in access to education, growing female participation, and improved data systems, while also exposing persistent gaps in public school coverage and infrastructure.
According to the report released on Thursday at Statistics House in Kampala, Uganda currently has 43,567 primary schools, including 12,557 public and 31,010 private institutions, serving a total of 9,118,314 learners. Of these, 4,586,970 are girls while 4,531,344 are boys, meaning females constitute 50.3 percent of all primary school learners.
The report further shows that 7,773 of Uganda’s 9,487 parishes now have at least one public primary school, indicating that access to basic education has reached the majority of communities across the country.
At the pre-primary level, Uganda recorded 2,374,674 learners in 38,347 schools, while secondary schools enrolled 2,008,133 learners across 5,498 schools nationwide. Girls also dominated secondary school enrollment, accounting for 53.3 percent of all learners.
Speaking during the dissemination of the report, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, described the findings as critical for Uganda’s future planning and implementation of Vision 2040.
“We needed this data yesterday, and we cannot adequately express how excited we are to finally have it today,” Dr Turyagyenda said. “This information is going to be extremely useful to both the Ministry and the Government as we plan for education service delivery and target the areas that need intervention most,” she added.
Dr Turyagyenda said the government’s transformation agenda could only succeed through effective planning supported by reliable and timely statistics. “We now have only about 13 and a half years remaining to achieve Vision 2040. Such a transformation cannot happen unless we plan effectively and execute efficiently. And we cannot plan effectively without reliable and timely data,” she noted.
She welcomed the strong participation of girls in education, particularly at the secondary level, where female learners outnumbered males.
The Permanent Secretary also highlighted the significance of public schools accommodating large numbers of learners despite being fewer than private schools. “Although government schools represented only about 27 percent of the schools surveyed, they still accounted for approximately 45 percent of the total learner population. To me, that is a very significant statistic,” she said.
Dr Turyagyenda also raised concern about the sharp drop between O-Level and A-Level enrollment, saying further analysis was needed to establish how many learners transition into technical and vocational education rather than dropping out entirely.
“As we know, after O-Level, some learners proceed to A-Level while others pursue skills-based education and certificate programmes,” she explained.
She further praised the newly launched e-dissemination platform, saying it would strengthen evidence-based decision-making within the education sector. “We are living in the 21st century — an era driven by knowledge, science, information, and technology. We must embrace these tools if we are to progress as a nation,” she said.
UBOS Executive Director Dr Chris Mukiza said the Baseline Education Census was designed to provide comprehensive and reliable statistics on Uganda’s education system. “The Baseline Education Census provides quality data and statistics for all schools and non-tertiary institutions in Uganda,” Dr Mukiza said.
“The report provides detailed and updated statistics covering schools and non-tertiary institutions, including baseline information on learners, teaching and non-teaching staff, the status of infrastructure, and instructional materials,” he added.
Dr Mukiza said the findings marked the climax of UBOS’s statistical release calendar for the financial year and challenged planners to translate the data into action. “What now remains for planners and decision-makers is to translate these statistics and data into concrete actions that will support the recovery and transformation of education in Uganda,” he said.
He also praised President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for championing the use of statistics in governance. “The President is a true champion of statistics, and many of his speeches draw heavily from official data produced by UBOS,” Dr Mukiza noted.
The UBOS Executive Director said the census exercise successfully overcame major logistical and data-cleaning challenges, including duplicated EMIS numbers and learners appearing in multiple identification systems.
Despite the challenges, UBOS conducted rigorous physical headcounts and validation revisits, which confirmed that the census data was accurate and reliable for national planning purposes.
UBOS Board Chairperson Dr Albert Byamugisha described the census as a strategic national milestone rather than an ordinary statistical exercise. “The report provides critical information on the distribution of schools and institutions, enrolment trends, teacher availability, classroom infrastructure, sanitation facilities, access to ICT, school attendance, completion rates, and other key educational indicators.”
“This evidence is essential for guiding targeted investments, equitable resource allocation, and informed policy interventions,” he added.
Dr Byamugisha credited government policies such as Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) for dramatically expanding access to education. “The introduction of UPE increased primary school enrolment from about 2.5 million learners in the mid-1990s to over 8 million learners within a few years,” he said.
He added that Uganda’s youthful population required sustained investment in quality education, skills development, innovation, and ICT. “Today’s rapidly changing global economy requires graduates who are digitally skilled, innovative, and adaptable,” he said.
The Board Chairperson nevertheless acknowledged continuing challenges in school infrastructure, teacher welfare, digital learning, and regional disparities in access to education. “We must continue investing in education infrastructure, teacher welfare, digital learning, science and innovation, and school retention, particularly for girls and children in rural areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Resident City Commissioner Richard Job Matua applauded UBOS for strengthening evidence-based governance and urged public leaders to rely on statistics when communicating with citizens.
“If you do not have evidence, do not communicate publicly. Without evidence, you risk misleading people and presenting a distorted picture of reality,” Matua said.
He called on Members of Parliament to regularly engage UBOS and utilise official statistics during parliamentary debates. “UBOS should be one of the most visited government institutions by public officials,” he added.
Matua also highlighted what he described as major progress in education expansion under the NRM government. “In 1986, Uganda had only about 7,000 primary schools. Today, Uganda has more than 43,000 primary schools. That represents an increase of more than 500 percent,” he said.
“Uganda had only about 527 secondary schools in 1986. Today, according to the Baseline Education Census 2025, the country has nearly 5,000 secondary schools. That is an increase of more than 900 percent,” he added.
He, however, urged the government to pay greater attention to disadvantaged regions such as Karamoja and Northern Uganda.
“Karamoja remains among the most disadvantaged regions in almost every development indicator,” Matua said. “As government prioritises resource allocation, it is important to focus attention on the regions with the greatest needs so that no Ugandan is left behind,” he added.
The report recommends assigning all learners unique identification numbers linked to National Identification Numbers (NINs), streamlining Education Management Information System (EMIS) registration, and enforcing the policy requiring every parish to have a government primary school and every sub-county to have a government secondary school.