UN Child Rights Committee Urges Free Pre-Primary Education in Uganda

6 in 10 Ugandan Children Miss Out on Early Learning The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on Uganda to significantly expand government support for early childhood education and provide free, state-run pre-primary education to all children. In its latest review of Uganda's record on children's rights, issued October 1, the Committee expressed concern about high numbers of children out of school due to financial barriers, and highlighted "very limited access to early childhood education," especially for children in rural areas and for children with disabilities. The Ugandan government provides free primary and secondary education, but under Uganda's education law, pre-primary education is left to private providers, with parents responsible for the cost. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn The Committee's findings echo 2024 research by Human Rights Watch and the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), which found that the lack of government-funded pre-primary education in Uganda leaves most young children without access to this critical stage of learning. Fewer than 1 in 10 Ugandan children ages 3 to 5 were enrolled in a registered and licensed pre-primary school, while 60 percent attended no school before entering primary school. Human Rights Watch and ISER found that private preschool fees create an insurmountable barrier for many families,particularly those with low incomes and in rural areas. A mother of eight told me that selling coal didn't earn enough to cover her children's school fees. She had gone into debt to keep them in school and had no idea how she would ever repay it. Uganda adopted an Early Childhood Care and Education Policy in 2025. Recognizing the importance of pre-primary education, the policy commits the government to increasing equitable access to quality, inclusive early childhood education. However, it takes a piecemeal approach, that ultimately leaves early childhood education primarily in private providers' hands. As a result, many families nationwide will continue to face financial barriers to pre-primary education, and many children will continue to miss out. Rather than subsidizing private pre-primary schools, Uganda should use or progressively expand current Universal Primary Education (UPE) infrastructure to introduce publicly funded pre-primary education for all children. Parliament should also amend Uganda's Education Act to specify that universal pre-primary is a government responsibility. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The Committee's recommendation offers a clear path forward: make pre-primary education free and accessible to every child. Jo Becker , Advocacy Director, Children's Rights Division Read the original article on HRW . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African