Overcrowding in secondary schools is threatening the successful rollout of Uganda’s revised Ordinary Level (O-Level) curriculum/ Courtesy photo
A new survey by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) shows that severe overcrowding in secondary schools is threatening the successful rollout of Uganda’s revised Ordinary Level (O-Level) curriculum.
Education experts recommend a teacher-to-student ratio of about 1:50 to ensure effective instruction and individual attention. Yet the EPRC found that many schools in Central and Eastern Uganda are coping with ratios as high as 1:100, five years after the curriculum’s launch in 2020.
The revised curriculum was designed to move away from rote learning toward a competency-based model, which depends on small-group teaching and flexible seating to encourage learner interaction.
“We made abrupt spot visits during class hours and found some schools, especially in Eastern Uganda, with more than a hundred students in one classroom,” said Blessing Atwine, an EPRC research analyst, while releasing the survey findings from July and August 2025.
Atwine explained that the government’s decision to withdraw Universal Secondary Education (USE) subsidies from private schools has intensified the problem. “As fees in private schools increased, many students transferred to government schools, which were already struggling with space and staff shortages,” she noted.
The survey forms part of the Pan-African Coalition for Transformation (PACT) project, which supports in-service teachers in implementing the new lower-secondary curriculum. While researchers observed broad acceptance of the competency-based approach, they found that many teachers still struggle to integrate key elements, particularly information and communication technology.
Atwine added that the transition to smart classrooms has barely begun in many institutions, largely because of funding constraints and limited access to learning resources.
Officials at the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) echoed the concerns. Gilbert Siima, NCDC’s Manager of Secondary Education, revealed that the curriculum was designed for an even lower ratio of 1:40 students per teacher to achieve optimal outcomes. However, he adds, their role ends at curriculum design and recommendation, leaving the implementation under the Ministry of Education’s Directorate of Education Services (DES).
Within the Ministry, Zulaika Naiga, who oversees secondary education monitoring in Central Uganda, acknowledged the challenges and said that during a recent visit to schools in the Greater Masaka region, they were surprised to find teachers still dictating notes to large groups, essentially the old method that the country was trying to move away from.
To address the crisis, EPRC recommends infrastructure-targeted financing to expand classrooms and recruit additional teachers. Without such investment, education stakeholders warn, the promise of the competency-based O-Level curriculum to promote greater critical thinking, practical skills, and student engagement may remain unrealized.
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