RUBANDA, UGANDA – A section of Rubanda District LC.5 Councilors have protested against the Ministry of Education’s directive to demote head teachers whose schools performed poorly in the 2025 academic year.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The heated debate erupted during today’s District Council meeting as members discussed the February 2026 directive issued by the Ministry. The order instructs District Chief Administrative Officers and District Education Officers to take disciplinary action against all head teachers whose schools underperformed in the 2025 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
The Ministry of Education and Sports directs that head teachers whose schools performed poorly, particularly those failing to produce division one or two results in the 2025 PLE, should be demoted to classroom teachers. The nationwide crackdown also targets absenteeism and poor supervision in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools.
However, Rubanda District LC.5 Youth Councilor Mr. Wilfred Arinda questioned the directive, arguing that some head teachers are unfairly bearing the blame for running underfunded schools that lack adequate teaching facilities.
“Even as the government, we have our own shortcomings, and we need to first consider whether we have provided these schools with all that they need before we talk about disciplining them,” he said.
Habuhutu-Mugyera Town Council LC.5 Councilor Adrine Tindenda noted that poor performance results from the collective failure of several stakeholders, including parents, School Management Committees, the government, and the students themselves.
“Some parents force their children to stay home digging long after the official school opening day and only send them to study several weeks later. How do you expect it to be the head teachers’ fault when such children don’t perform?” she asked.
CUE IN… TIBENDA AND ARINDA
While acknowledging that poor performance could be caused by various issues, LC.5 Chairperson Mr. Ampeire Stephen Kasyaba primarily attributed the problem to a lack of sufficient inspections.His remarks were supported by District Speaker Ms. Mary Waguma, who reported that some head teachers were taking visitors’ books to inspectors’ offices or hotels in Kabale town, where the inspectors signed indicating they had visited schools, even when they had not.
CUE IN….. KASYABA AND TUSHEMEREIRWE WE
Ikumba Subcounty LC.5 Councilor Mr. Kenneth Muhindi acknowledged that some school heads had not performed to expected standards but opposed the idea of demotion. Instead, he proposed that the government should establish a policy requiring all teachers to enroll their children in schools where they are posted. He argued that teachers in UPE schools often do not commit to academic excellence because their own children study in private schools.
CUE IN…MUHINDI
However, Hamuhambo Town Council LC.5 Councilor Diaz Owoyesigyire supported the Ministry’s directive, arguing that demoting poorly performing head teachers would improve overall performance. He also noted that the directive is not unique to Rubanda District, citing an example of neighbouring Kabale District where 15 head teachers had already been demoted to classroom teachers.
CUE IN …OWOYESIGYIRE
Rubanda District CAO Mr. Samuel Nahabwe revealed that a total of seven teachers had been dismissed over issues related to habitual absenteeism, while several head teachers also faced demotion due to poor performance. Without disclosing names, the CAO stated that head teachers charged with non-performance had been forwarded to the District Service Commission with recommendations for demotion, dismissal or forced early retirement.
CUE IN…CAO NAHABWE
Official figures show that, out of 3,628 candidates who sat for the 2025 PLE in Rubanda District, only 270 scored Division 1, 264 were ungraded, and 74 missed exams.
The PLE results, released by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) in January 2026, indicated that at least 77,080 candidates were categorized as ungraded (Division U), representing an increase from 64,251 candidates who failed in 2024.
Failure rates were higher among girls, with 10.07% (42,580) failing to meet minimum standards, compared to 8.97% (34,500) of male candidates.
Students placed in Division U (Ungraded) were advised to repeat Primary Seven instead of advancing to the next level.
About the Author
