The report indicated that in the case of Mukono, a majority of learners in Primary Three were unable to do Primary Two work, and that even by the end of the primary cycle up to P7, a significant minority of children were unable to do Primary Two reading.
Results of a survey carried out to establish the literacy and numeracy assessment in primary schools in 29 districts in Uganda has shown divergent trends for children’s literacy and numeracy, showing that in Mukono district, a majority of children in Primary 3 were unable to do Primary Two work.
The survey which was conducted in July-August 2024 further indicated that the average pupil:teacher ratio in visited Mukono schools was 27:1, lower than the national target standing at 40:1 yet the largest which was found in a few of the visited schools was 61:1.
The results are contained in a report released in October 2025 by Uwezo Uganda, an independent not-for-profit organization working to improve the quality of education in Uganda by demonstrating how to improve learning outcomes through independent data collection, research and advocacy.
The organization, conducting citizen-led assessments to measure children’s basic literacy and numeracy skills, on November 25, 2025 released its findings to teachers, parents, district executives, learners and journalists in a one-day interaction held at Mukono district headquarters, and held discussions on the way forward for improvement.
Giving a hint about the national findings, Robert Mukasa, a trainer at UWEZO, said Wakiso and Mpigi districts stand in first and second positions in competence rate according to the survey, followed by Fort Portal and Kampala in third and fourth positions, while Mukono stands in the fifth position.
Mukasa said that a total of 671 children aged four years and above from 285 households in Mukono were assessed, and 15 schools were visited.
“Mukono emerged in fifth position at a 42.0% rate, while Namutumba, at 7.0% competence rate tailed the list, below Oyam at 7.2 %,” he said.
Other districts in the survey programme included Lwengo, Kabale, Mbarara, Maracha, Rubirizi, Isingiro, Kotido, Kassanda, Buliisa, Mbale, Hoima, Bugiri, Namisindwa, Bundibugyo, Kapchorwa, Alebtong, Kyankwanzi, Terego, Kumi, Kamuli, Kitgum and Pallisa.
According to Emma Mafabi, an official of Uwezo Uganda, all respondents from Primary Three to Primary Seven were asked questions drawn from syllabus work of Primary Two because he reasoned, Primary Two is the foundation class with its proficiency being the ability to read with comprehension and do all four arithmetic functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The report indicated that in the case of Mukono, a majority of learners in Primary Three were unable to do Primary Two work, and that even by the end of the primary cycle up to P7, a significant minority of children were unable to do Primary Two reading.
It further indicated that across the survey districts, assessment data showed that an additional year of pre-primary (Top class) increases a learner’s likelihood of achieving mathematics and reading proficiency.
It was also established that although teachers’ absence denies learners adequate instructional time and so negatively affecting their learning, in Mukono, 10% of teachers were absent on the day of the survey.
“The survey also highlighted gender imbalance in the leadership of schools whereby five out of the 15 visited schools had female headteachers,” Mafabi said.
Mukono District Inspector of Schools, Sandra Sserwadda who represented the Mukono District Education Officer, Rashid Kikomeko, said that Mukono district is challenged by inadequate teachers whereby a big number of schools still have less than five teachers.
“Despite the fact that the district has had issues with the District Service Commission for the recent years, but it also lacks enough wage to pay the number of teachers required in the available government schools,” she said.
Among other factors, parents highlighted the insufficient school inspections by the relevant authorities from the district education department as one of the factors which have contributed to the deteriorating performance in public schools.
Sserwadda however clarified that the education system has outlived the system of inspection involving storming schools which she said sometimes led teachers to flee classrooms through the windows, and adopted a more friendly method of assigning inspectors to sit in classes and share learning with pupils, and later guide teachers to effect improvement where necessary.
In his contribution, the headteacher for Mugomba UMEA Primary School located in Mpatta sub-county, Mukono district, Mohammed Kamoga discouraged the tendency of strictly teaching lower primary learners in English only with no local language interjections, reasoning that this leads to having learners who simply study without internalizing anything.
Kamoga also decried the extremely large learner:teacher ratio particularly in his school, saying that with 126 learners in Primary Five, if a teacher has more than one subject in the same class and with other lessons in other classes, he will find himself stranded and unable to effectively deliver messages as he would like to.
Florence Nakyagaba, the headteacher of Bbajjo Primary School in Goma division, Mukono Municipality, advised parents with special needs children to liaise with teachers to be able to handle study requirements of their children, and possibly identify specialized medical personnel to deal with the children to curative levels.
“We as teachers can easily detect learners with visibility needs, slow learners, those with poor hearing, stammerers and other problems, and accordingly direct parents to physicians who can handle the problems early enough,” she noted.
