By Aggrey Baba
Uganda’s Ministry of Education has ordered Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and District Education Officers (DEOs) across the country to verify school registers following a shocking revelation that billions of shillings in capitation grants are being stolen by ghost learners.
Despite the release of over UGX 119 billion for the second term of 2025 under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE) and UPOLET programs, many schools remain in dire conditions with children studying under trees, sitting on dusty floors, with no chalk or toilets.
But while real pupils suffer, thousands of ghost beneficiaries have been registered to illegally benefit from the funds, with some districts exposed for inflating enrollment figures.
In Kitgum, 38% of learners listed under USE could not be traced, and in Budaka, out of 8,726 students under USE, only 8,133 were confirmed. For UPOLET, the district reported 1,806, but only 1,302 were found. Even 54 special needs learners they claimed to have, turned out to be non-existent.
In Ntungamo, oficials reported 100,556 pupils under UPE, but only 77,128 were verified, leaving over 23,000 pupils not found.
Each UPE learner is supposed to receive UGX 20,000 per year, USE students UGX 58,300, and UPOLET students UGX 90,000. Special needs learners under USE are allocated UGX 192,500 per term.
But the money, instead of buying desks, chalk, or maintaining school structures, is disappearing into the hands of mafias and officials running ghost schemes.
Dr. Kedrace Turyagyenda, the educations ministry’s permanent secretary has instructed local government leaders to verify data through the Education Management Information System (EMIS), warning that schools must use the funds strictly according to government guidelines.
However, critics say the enforcement is weak, and corruption is deeply rooted, being facilitated by big names in government.
In Abim, the district initially reported 37,350 UPE pupils, but only 36,401 were verified, just like in Kibuku, where similar disparities are under probe. Yet in Wakiso, only 70,079 pupils were declared, but verification revealed 88,165, plus 1,766 special needs learners, raising questions about data errors and manipulation.
The ongoing verification follows a probe launched last year, after numerous reports of missing or exaggerated enrollment figures. The Ministry, with help from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), is now conducting an Education Census to collect accurate data.
No penalties have been issued to CAOs, DEOs or head teachers who bloated numbers. And insiders fear some officials behind the scam are too powerful to be touched. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
