Kampala — The government of Uganda has allocated Shs7.1 billion towards the implementation of the new Advanced Level (A-Level) curriculum, bringing an end to months of uncertainty surrounding its rollout.
The announcement was made during a sitting of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Sports, where Members of Parliament pressed the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to prioritise funding for the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) to implement the new curriculum.
The revised curriculum is part of the Ministry of Education and Sports’ broader competence-based education reform, which began with Ordinary Level (O-Level) students.
The first cohort under the new O-Level syllabus was examined by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) in 2024 and has now advanced to A-Level.
Hon. James Kubeketerya, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, said the implementation of the A-Level curriculum is long overdue and must be treated with urgency.
“This is non-negotiable; the matter cannot be debated. Money should be found to implement the new curriculum,” Kubeketerya asserted.
The committee session, held on Thursday, 3 April 2025, was attended by the Minister of State for Finance (Planning), Hon. Amos Lugoloobi, and the Minister of State for Higher Education, Hon. Chrysostom Muyingo, to discuss the Ministry of Education’s policy statement and budget estimates for the 2025/2026 financial year.
MPs raised concerns about the slow pace of teacher training under the new A-Level framework. Hon. Michael Timuzigu (NRM, Kajara County) noted that only 15 teachers had been trained by UNEB on how to assess learners under the new system.
“UNEB was not given money to train more teachers. The assumption seems to be that the 15 trained will train others, which is unrealistic,” he said.
Hon. Nathan Itungo (Indep., Kashari South County) added that although continuous assessment is central to the new curriculum, UNEB remains financially constrained.
“We now have students in Senior Five, yet we are still struggling with curriculum implementation,” Itungo said.
In response, Lugoloobi said the Ministry of Finance had allocated Shs18 billion to UNEB to support continuous assessment and the marking of final examinations.
“We have supported UNEB, and as a result, cases of examination leakages have reduced,” he noted.
During the meeting, MPs also urged the ministers to harmonise salaries for all primary and secondary school teachers. This follows a previous government move to enhance the salaries of science teachers, leaving their arts counterparts frustrated.
Hon. Patrick Nyanzi (Butemba County) criticised the Ministry of Education for not including arts teachers in the 2025/2026 salary budget.
“The ministers previously assured us there was a plan to enhance salaries for arts teachers too. Now that both are present, can they tell us what message to take back to these teachers?” Nyanzi asked.
In response, Lugoloobi cited ongoing fiscal constraints.
“We still face challenges in mobilising enough resources,” he said.
Minister Muyingo revealed that the Ministry of Education’s projected budget for the next financial year is Shs800 billion, of which Shs200 billion is externally financed.
“All the additional resources provided are earmarked for specific activities. This means that the ministry still has very limited fiscal space to implement new or emerging priorities,” Muyingo explained.
He listed several underfunded or unfunded priorities, including the implementation of free and compulsory Universal Primary Education, grant-aiding of primary and secondary schools, and the repurposing of primary teacher training colleges.
