UPE students in IbandaIn 1997, Uganda took a bold step with the launch of Universal Primary Education (UPE). What began as an affirmative action programme, initially framed as “baana bashome,” free primary schooling for up to four children per family, with emphasis on girls, quickly expanded into free education for all primary-aged children.Enrolment surged dramatically, more than doubling in a single year in many accounts, and the policy narrowed gaps between rich and poor, boys and girls. It was a landmark achievement in expanding access. Nearly three decades later, the challenge has shifted.Access is no longer the only metric that matters. With roughly 900,000 candidates registered for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), the country faces a more complex reality: of every 100 pupils who enter Primary One, only about 44 sit for PLE. That leaves roughly 56 per cent who never complete the primary cycle. Of those who do finish P7, only about 67 percent transition to any post-primary institution, and around 20 per cent overall—reach university. These are not abstract figures. They represent hundreds of thousands of young people whose educational journeys end prematurely. Where is 56 per cent, who follows 56 per cent, where did 56 per cent go, who is to blame? Is there any clear government strategy to end this? Is the future of 56 per cent of pupils secured?.The roots of this attrition are multiple and well-documented. Chronic underfunding is central. The government capitation grant of Shs 20,000 per pupil per year (sometimes released at even lower effective rates) cannot sustain instructional materials, maintenance or basic school operations at acceptable quality. Schools therefore rely on parental contributions and internal management, yet many vulnerable families cannot provide consistent support. High pupil-teacher ratios persist because teacher recruitment and wage bills have not kept pace with enrolment.Without adequate numbers of qualified teachers, the quality of learning inevitably suffers even where classrooms are filled.Geographical and infrastructural barriers compound the problem. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Baseline Education Census 2025, more than half of the country’s sub-counties and town councils (over 1,200 out of roughly 2,209) have no secondary school at all. Many constituencies still lack technical institutions. Pupils who complete primary school often face long distances, high transport costs, or simply no nearby option. In regions such as the Ankole-Masaka cattle corridor, cultural practices including early marriage further interrupt girls’ education, limiting their prospects long before they reach secondary school.Financial hardship and social norms interact. Parents facing immediate economic pressure withdraw children for labour or marriage. Can the government guarantee free & quality education? Are local leaders doing community education and sensitisation? And what are policy analysts in the ministry of Education and Sports doing?Local leaders and communities have not always prioritised tracking individual learners or intervening early when attendance drops. Are headteachers doing their best to track learners? Are local leaders sleeping on the job? Are district school inspectors sleeping on the job? Who is to blame?The ministry of Education and Sports has expanded secondary and technical provision over the years, yet the gaps remain large. Where is the problem? Whose future is lost? Where are missing links? What is the clear strategy?The Anti-corruption efforts led by minister Balaam Barugahara, focusing on ghost pupils, illegal fees, and mismanagement of capitation funds have done magical role, have drawn attention to leakage and weak accountability. These inspections have produced arrests, interdictions, and public exposure of discrepancies between reported enrolment and actual attendance minister Balam deserves credit and government backup to put an end to corruption in schools.Corruption in school finance is one obstacle among many; addressing it requires consistent institutional systems, better data verification, and broader ownership rather than reliance on individual ministerial campaigns. What exactly happened to anti-corruption agencies?Securing the future of the current PLE cohort and those who follow demands a clearer, multi-layered strategy.Government must move beyond the present per-pupil grant model towards realistic funding levels that cover essential costs and increase wage bill that support recruitment of enough teachers to meet pupil-teacher ratio policy.Expanding secondary and technical schools in underserved sub-counties and constituencies should be looked into thoroughly with transparent prioritisation not political gimmicks. Local leaders, district officials, parish chiefs, and school management committees should systematically follow up on learners who drop out or fail to transition, identifying whether the barriers are financial, geographical, or cultural and linking families to available support.Parents and communities retain a critical role. Capitation grants alone will not deliver quality. Cultural norms that truncate education, particularly early marriage, require sustained community dialogue alongside enforcement of existing laws.Finally, anti-corruption measures should become systemic—routine verification of enrolment data, transparent use of funds, and joint oversight by education, local government leaders, and civil society actors—rather than episodic public confrontations.Uganda’s UPE policy succeeded in opening the school gates. The next phase is to ensure that the children who enter also complete, learn meaningfully, and proceed further. With nearly a million pupils sitting PLE in 2026, the window to design and resource a coherent bottom-up retention and transition strategy is open.Quantity without quality, and access without completion, will not secure the futures these learners deserve.The author is the Kazo workers’ councillor and general secretary, NRM Kazo districtmugabe14lex@gmail.com.The post Beyond access: securing quality education and the future of Uganda’s learners appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.