The Baseline Education Census (BEC) 2025 has revealed stark regional inequalities in Uganda’s education system, with sub-regions such as Madi, Sebei, and Karamoja consistently recording the lowest access to schools, learners, and infrastructure.
The report, released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) on Thursday, shows that Buganda, Busoga, and Ankole dominate most education indicators, while remote regions continue to lag behind.
In primary education distribution by sub-region, Buganda leads with 16,538 schools, followed by Busoga with 4,294 and Ankole with 3,643. At the bottom, Madi has just 315 schools, highlighting severe access gaps.
Sebei also records low coverage, with only 204 parishes having at least one primary school, compared to Buganda’s 1,629, Busoga’s 788, and Ankole’s 867.
In secondary education, Karamoja emerges as the most disadvantaged sub-region with only 40 schools, followed by Madi with 46 and Sebei with 49.
This is in contrast to Buganda’s dominance with 2,065 secondary schools, while Ankole has 517, Busoga 516, Bunyoro 268, Kigezi 249, Bukedi 243, Tooro 231, Acholi 156, Lango 166 and Rwenzori 147.
Learner distribution also mirrors this imbalance. Buganda leads with 750,673 secondary learners, followed by Ankole with 218,209 and Busoga with 181,186.
At the lower end, Karamoja has only 8,954 learners, Sebei 16,297, Madi 18,362, and Rwenzori 37,157.
The disparities extend to parish-level access. Nationally, 1,373 parishes have no primary school. Karamoja accounts for 211, Bugisu 344, Teso 167, and West Nile 129. Madi has 18, Sebei 204, Busoga 22, Kigezi 13, and Kampala 15.
Even where schools exist, infrastructure pressure remains high, with public primary schools reporting a pupil-teacher ratio of 48 compared to 24 in private schools.
The census also shows that public schools face heavier strain in classrooms and sanitation facilities, with pupil-classroom ratios at 50 in public schools versus 21 in private schools.
The findings highlight urgent need for targeted investment in underserved regions as Uganda pushes toward equitable education access under the national development agenda.
