120 traditional secondary schools to be renovated

What the report says

Government says it plans to rehabilitate 120 traditional secondary schools across Uganda in an effort to improve aging infrastructure and make them more competitive with newer seed schools. The announcement was made in Parliament by State Minister for Education and Sports Peter Ogwang during a plenary sitting on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, after a question from MP Peter Obong Acuda.

According to the Watchdog Uganda report, the discussion focused on concerns that many older secondary schools are deteriorating, lack modern facilities and are losing learners to better-equipped seed schools. Obong said the Competency-Based Curriculum requires laboratories, libraries and functional buildings, arguing that some schools, including Akokoro SS, are at a disadvantage because of outdated structures.

Ogwang said the rehabilitation programme will cover schools built between the 1960s and 1980s and named Comboni College, Lango College, St. Catherine Girls School, Dr. Obote College, Adwari SS and Aloi SS among the institutions slated for renovation. He also said government intends to work with development partners to expand the effort beyond the initial 120 schools.

The debate broadened to the condition of primary education when Kalungu West MP Gonzaga Ssewungu urged government to prioritise Universal Primary Education schools, many of which, he said, are severely under-resourced. Ogwang replied that education funds are channelled through local governments and encouraged MPs to play a more active oversight role in their districts.