Education ministry seeks additional sh348 billion in budget

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Education sector  in Uganda is seeking an additional funding of sh 348.6 billion in the next financial year 2019/2020. The funds will cater for activities that include recruitment of primary teachers, aiding community schools and the student’s loan scheme among others.

The education sector is among the sectors that will suffer budget cuts in the coming 2019/2020 financial year from the current budget allocation of 2.78 trillion Shillings to 2.68 trillion Shillings.

The State Minister for Primary Education, Rosemary Sseninde, attributed the 95.6 billion Shillings budget reduction to two donor projects which are expected to exit the Public Investment Plan (PIP). They include Support to Higher Education, Science and Technology- ADB V and Uganda Teacher and School Effectiveness Project – GPE.

Sseninde on Wednesday led a team of officials from the Education Ministry before Parliament’s Education Committee chaired by Pallisa County MP Jacob Opolot to present the sector’s Budget Framework Paper for financial year 2019/2020.

Aggrey Kibinge, the Under Secretary Education Ministry explained to the committee that they have a fixed resource ceiling despite new demands to the sector.

According to Kibinge, the demands include the movement of Uganda Scouts and Girl Guides Associations to the Education Ministry from the Gender Minister, movement of Northern Uganda Youth Development Institute from Office of Prime Minister to Education among others.

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Out of the required 348.6 billion Shillings, 132 billion will be used to recruit 22,000 primary teachers at an average salary rate of 500,000 Shillings, 9.6 billion shillings for coding community schools following the government policy of having at least one public primary school per parish.

The Ministry also needs 25 billion for aiding more 100 community secondary schools, 10 billion for Student’s Loan Scheme, 4 billion facilitation of Uganda Scouts and Girl Guides Association, 2.6 billion for Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre, 5.8 billion to construct perimeter wall on Mandela National Stadium land among others.

Sseninde told the MPs that funding of the sector remains stagnant amidst growing demands and declining outcomes.

Opolot said that his committee will make recommendations to the House Budget Committee for additional funding.

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