“Automatic promotion must stop with immediate effect. Learners advancing to Primary Seven should do so on merit,” Dr. Kaducu said.
The government has outlawed the automatic advancement of pupils in primary schools, a system which education stakeholders have for long faulted for contributing to poor performance in public schools.
The directive was delivered on Thursday by State Minister for Primary Education, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, during a meeting with headteachers of government primary schools in Mukono District.
“Automatic promotion must stop with immediate effect. Learners advancing to Primary Seven should do so on merit,” Dr. Kaducu said. “We cannot continue pushing learners forward only for them to fail at the end. Are they wheelbarrows? Let’s be serious and make education meaningful.”
She noted that the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni, would also address the matter formally.
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The meeting took place at St. Joseph Mixed Primary School Naggalama and focused on reviewing the rollout of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme. It brought together 187 headteachers, Ministry of Education Assistant Commissioner Hajat Safina Mutumba, Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajat Fatuma Ndisaba Nabitaka, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Henry Ddamba, District Education Officer Rashid Kikomeko, and district inspectors of schools.
Dr. Kaducu criticized the practice of promoting learners regardless of performance, questioning why pupils who have failed should advance to the next levels only to struggle at the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
Headteachers explained that automatic promotion had widely been treated as government policy, despite their earlier objections. One headteacher observed that the approach is largely confined to public schools, unlike private institutions where merit-based promotion is strictly enforced, often resulting in stronger performance.
Dr. Mutumba clarified that no formal written policy mandates automatic promotion. She explained that although the practice became common during the tenure of former Education Minister Namirembe Bitamazire, it was never officially adopted as policy.
Mukono’s 2025 PLE Results
In the 2025 PLE results, Mukono District registered 16,535 candidates, an increase from 16,450 in 2024. The breakdown is as follows:
- 2,658 candidates passed in Division One
- 8,538 in Division Two
- 2,719 in Division Three
- 1,303 in Division Four
- 1,049 received Division U
Additionally, 268 registered candidates did not sit the exams, compared to 330 the previous year.
Persistent Infrastructure and Staffing Gaps
Despite government efforts to ensure timely salary payments and improve infrastructure, school leaders highlighted ongoing obstacles affecting performance.
Gashegu Murama, headteacher of Mugomba Primary School in Mpatta Sub-county, said teachers are often blamed unfairly for poor results. He cited Nakasenyi Church of Uganda Primary School and Nakaswa Church of Uganda Primary School, both of which lost their roofs to a hailstorm and now conduct lessons in open spaces.
Overcrowding remains another major concern, with some classrooms accommodating two classes at once, a situation that undermines effective learning and retention of top-performing pupils.
Fatuma Ndibalekera, headteacher of Namanoga UMEA Primary School, revealed that some schools have resorted to charging informal fees to manage staffing shortages and remain competitive with private schools.
“Some institutions operate from Primary One to Primary Seven with only four teachers, including the headteacher,” she said. “When we notify the district, there is no response. Through PTA and school management committees, parents agree to contribute small amounts to feed learners and hire additional teachers.”
Headteachers also raised concerns about low pay, noting that many teachers struggle to meet personal expenses such as school fees for their own children, medical bills, and transport costs—especially in schools without staff quarters.
Teacher Shortage and Land Disputes
The DEO, Rashid Kikomeko disclosed that Mukono has spent more than five years without a functional District Service Commission (DSC), affecting teacher recruitment.
The district’s approved staffing level is 1,758 teachers, but there is a deficit of 249. Of the 187 headteachers, only 87 are substantively appointed, and just 112 deputy headteachers hold substantive posts.
The CAO, Henry Ddamba said the district had obtained clearance to use the DSC of neighboring Buvuma District to facilitate recruitment.
“Although we may not immediately fill all 249 gaps, we intend to recruit at least 100 teachers for now,” he said.
RDC Ndisaba also pointed to land wrangles affecting several schools. At Nakagere UMEA Primary School, part of the land was reportedly sold by relatives of the original donor to a Member of Parliament who has since built a house on the school playground. The matter is before the courts.
She urged government intervention to secure land titles for schools facing encroachment, noting that a similar approach helped resolve a dispute at Kiwanga UMEA Primary School.
Seeking Lasting Solutions
Though the headteachers had highlighted the law salaries for the teachers and headteachers as one of the factors affecting the performance in public schools, Dr. Mutumba cautioned that increasing salaries alone would not necessarily improve academic outcomes.
She observed that better-paid science teachers in secondary schools have not automatically delivered stronger results.
Dr. Kaducu described the Mukono meeting as the first in a series of engagements with headteachers across the country. She said she would compile a report for Minister Janet Kataha Museveni and organize a meeting between headteacher representatives from the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area and the minister.
“Our goal is to identify practical measures that will raise standards in government schools,” she said.