UPE, USE: Museveni calls for “consensus” to deal with “historical mistake”

President Museveni Yoweri Kaguta addressed the nation on Saturday evening and stated the intentions behind his government’s introduction of free education.

In 1996, his government established Universal Primary Education (UPE), which was followed by Universal Secondary Education (USE) in 2007.

Both UPE and USE, he said, would do a great job if the free education they intended in government primary and secondary schools was implemented fully.

Local leaders, including the parents associations, he said, still put charges on learners in government schools.

In his upcountry trips to Acholi, West Nile, Masaka, Teso, Bukedi, Sebei, Bugisu, Karamoja and Busoga, Museveni highlighted the primary school completion rate.

Acholi stands at 31% which he said means that 68 drop out. West Nile at 19%, Bukedi, 20%, Teso, 36, Sebei, 38; Bugisu, 38.4 and Karamoja,12.5%.

“We did not get figures for Busoga and Masaka. This is a historical mistake. We need consensus to end this mistake,” he said.

In the recently released PLE results, private schools performed better than government-owned schools across the country.