By
Oweyegha-Afunaduula
In Uganda, academic education continues to be valued far more than public education, despite new developments such as the World Wide Web and Artificial Intelligence showing minimal regard for traditional academic paths. Academic education is often defined as the process of learning and acquiring qualifications through formal education, involving knowledge, skills, and critical thinking.
It usually occurs in lecture halls, libraries, and laboratories, and is assessed through essays, exams, and oral examinations. While it’s essential for personal growth, it doesn’t always cultivate critical thinking, as some academic education systems focus primarily on rote learning (Oweyegha-Afunaduula, 2025). The recent Education Policy Review Commission led by Amanya Mushega seeks to reduce rote learning and exams at the lower education levels. However, it remains unclear whether this will extend to A-levels and university education.
Meanwhile, vocational education emphasizes preparing students for the workplace and developing specific skills. The Ugandan government has moved towards integrating vocational education into secondary and primary schools. Historically, this was practiced at the primary school level during the colonial era, where skills like rope-making and basket-weaving were valued, even if they were not formally examined.
Unfortunately, integrating vocational and academic education at higher levels such as A-levels and universities presents challenges. As a result, academic education continues to dominate, and examinations remain the primary mode of assessment. In this article, I want to focus on public education, particularly in Uganda. Public education has always played a crucial role in democratic societies. Beyond preparing students for productive lives, it aims to create responsible citizens, unify diverse cultures, and reduce societal inequalities (Kober, 2007).
In recent times, however, Uganda’s education system has shifted towards offering better education to refugees, with some receiving higher-quality education than Ugandan citizens. Public education is generally defined as education financed by the government, providing free and accessible education to all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status (AI). The purpose of public education is to ensure equality of opportunity and create a well-informed workforce (Froese-Germain & Pinchin, 2016).
Public education has the potential to reduce societal inequalities, as studies show that free education is one of the greatest tools for addressing disparities in society. However, in Uganda, we are failing to meet these goals. Privatization and political influence in education have led to the deterioration of the public education system. Randi Weingarten (2023) argues that while attacks on public education are not new, the current efforts are designed to dismantle it.
Public education is highly political, as politics often clashes with its goals (Shaw, 2021). Unfortunately, Uganda’s public schools suffer from inadequate funding, political interference, and a growing divide between science and humanities teachers. Weingarten (2023) also highlights the growing influence of ideologies that seek to destroy public education systems globally. In Uganda, the government’s neoliberal stance and commitment to globalization have made the country a target for Project 2025, an initiative that seeks to eliminate public schools for profit.
Although the government has backtracked on some previous plans, the lack of funding and political influence continues to undermine public schools’ effectiveness. In contrast, Shaw (2021) advocates for a vision of public education that emphasizes critical thinking, exploration, and respect, which could benefit learners at the university level if alternative systems of knowledge production were allowed to flourish.
Sadly, Uganda’s education system is increasingly marked by inequality, privatization, and political interference. Despite the challenges, public education remains a crucial public good that should not be abolished. It must be improved using new knowledge systems such as interdisciplinarity, crossdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and extradisciplinarity.
Ugandans and the global community must resist the effort to eliminate public education through Project 2025, which reflects the broader agenda of global capitalism and neoliberalism. We must safeguard public education for the future of our society and democracy.
For God and My Country