Advancing Uganda’s Prosperity by Providing Free Pre-Primary Education
Children at the private Kitante Primary School in Kampala, where the fees for pre-primary students are UGX 350,000 (US$ 93) per term, or UGX 1,050,000 (US$ 298) per year, representing more than five months’ average wages for a Ugandan in paid employment
Three recent independent reports strongly advocate for Uganda to invest in pre-primary education.
In June 2024, the Initiative for Economic and Social Rights (ISER) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a study based on interviews with over 100 parents, teachers, children, and education officials across Uganda. Their findings highlight that, in the absence of government-funded nursery programs, the cost of pre-primary education is a major barrier for most families. As a result, Uganda faces lower primary school performance, higher repetition and drop-out rates, and widening income inequality.
A second report by the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC), published in January 2025, emphasized that early childhood investments offer the highest returns for any nation. The Commission stressed that experiences during a child’s first six years critically shape lifelong skills, and that early investment is not only in children's best interests but is vital for building Uganda’s human capital.
Similarly, a third report from the World Bank, issued in February, reinforced the economic case for investing in early childhood development, including providing free nursery education. Like the EPRC, the World Bank underlined that Uganda’s future prosperity hinges on human capital, and that pre-primary education is among the most effective and cost-efficient investments the country can make.
During early childhood, brain development peaks, with critical cognitive, social, and emotional skills taking shape. Access to early learning brings lasting benefits such as improved health, educational achievement, better employment opportunities, and higher lifetime earnings.
Yet, according to all three reports, Uganda’s current pre-primary education system is inequitable and inefficient. Private nursery fees often amount to several months’ average salary, making them unaffordable for low-income families.
One subsistence farmer from Omoro district, interviewed by ISER and HRW, shared, “I always struggle to find the money. Some of my children couldn’t complete all nursery levels because I couldn’t afford the fees each term.” Similarly, an electronics trader in Mukono district described how his child was sent home from nursery school due to unpaid fees. A mother of eight said she had to borrow money to cover nursery costs, unsure how she would repay the debt.
The EPRC found that Uganda lags behind neighboring East African countries where pre-primary education is free and compulsory, such as Kenya and Tanzania. Other African countries, including Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Ghana, Benin, and Gabon, have also made strides by offering at least one year of free pre-primary education.
Leaving pre-primary education solely to the private sector leads to inefficiencies, as underage children enroll prematurely in public primary schools, often resulting in grade repetition. Studies show children who miss out on nursery education are more than twice as likely to repeat primary school grades compared to their peers who attended nursery.
These early disparities have lifelong impacts, worsening Uganda’s existing wealth inequality. Children without a strong pre-primary foundation often struggle to catch up, limiting their future opportunities. UNICEF estimates that without free pre-primary education, Uganda could forfeit 170 trillion UGX (US$45 billion) in social and economic benefits by 2063.
Investing in publicly funded pre-primary education yields substantial returns. A recent cost-benefit analysis revealed that every shilling invested would generate 16 shillings in benefits, through higher lifetime earnings for children, reduced primary school repetition rates, and greater workforce participation by caregivers. Moreover, investments in pre-primary education lower public spending on law enforcement, healthcare, and the justice system, and reduce rates of child marriage, child labor, and teenage pregnancy.
Both ISER-HRW and the EPRC recommend that the Ugandan government provide at least one year of free pre-primary education, possibly by integrating nursery programs into existing public primary schools to minimize costs and expand access equitably.
The Ugandan government now has a rare opportunity to take decisive action. The World Bank has hailed the cabinet’s adoption of a new early childhood care and education policy in May 2024 as a potential "game-changer," setting the stage for implementing free, quality, government-funded pre-primary education. Additionally, Uganda stands at the threshold of a "demographic dividend," with falling birth rates and a growing workforce offering a chance to accelerate economic development through investments in human capital.
Children’s access to early education should not be determined by their families’ ability to pay. Now is the time for Uganda to commit to free, government-funded pre-primary education, securing a better future for its children—and for the nation as a whole.
