Mukono District chairperson Francis Lukooya Mukoome has warned head teachers of public primary schools that they could lose their positions if their schools fail to produce at least one first-grade candidate in the forthcoming Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
Mr Mukoome said the district would hold school administrators accountable for poor academic performance, arguing that public servants should not continue occupying leadership positions without delivering results.
He issued the warning on Monday while addressing parents and Primary Seven candidates during dedication prayers at Kawuku Boarding Primary School in Kimenyedde Sub-county.
“I will evaluate all of you after the Uganda National Examinations Board releases results early next year. If your school fails to produce a single first grade, you have no business being a head teacher,” Mr Mukoome said.
He cited his previous tenure as district chairperson about a decade ago, when he said he had demoted some head teachers over poor examination results while promoting high-performing classroom teachers to headship positions.
Mr Mukoome argued that Mukono had lost ground in academic performance after previously ranking among Uganda’s three best-performing districts, blaming the decline partly on complacency among some public servants.
He said the district needed renewed commitment from school administrators to restore its standing in national examinations.
However, the proposed use of first-grade results as a basis for demotion places the spotlight on how school performance is assessed, particularly given differences in staffing, learning materials and infrastructure among public schools.
Mr Mukoome singled out Kawuku Boarding Primary School for praise, saying it had maintained strong academic performance despite its rural location and was competing with established private schools in urban areas.
The school’s head teacher, Fredrick Kabonge, said enrolment had grown from 300 pupils in 2020, when he took over, to 840, reflecting increased demand for the institution’s services.
Mr Kabonge was promoted from classroom teacher to head teacher by Mr Mukoome more than a decade ago.
However, he said the growing pupil population had put pressure on the school’s infrastructure, leaving it short of desks and without a library or a main hall.
In response, Mr Mukoome pledged to construct a multipurpose hall at the school in the next financial year. He also donated 200 hand hoes and promised to provide computers to support pupils in acquiring computer skills.
The PLE examinations are scheduled to run from October 30 to November 4, 2026, according to the dates provided.
Mukoome warns against illegal school fees
The district chairperson also warned head teachers against charging unauthorised fees in public schools, saying he had joined security agencies in efforts to crack down on officials accused of exploiting parents.
He cited a recent case in which a head teacher was arrested for allegedly collecting examination registration fees from parents before registering the candidates under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme, through which government pays examination fees.
“Imagine charging parents Uneb fees and then registering the candidates under UPE. That is illegal and theft. Those doing it should stop forthwith,” he said.
The warning comes amid concerns over the financial demands placed on parents in public schools, particularly where charges are presented as compulsory despite government support for primary education.
Mr Mukoome urged school administrators to comply with the rules governing public education and cautioned that those found engaging in illegal collections would face action.
The House of Clergy chairperson in Mukono Diocese, the Rev Edward Muyomba, who attended the event, meanwhile defended parents’ contributions towards school meals.
Rev Muyomba argued that providing children with lunch was important to their health and academic performance, cautioning parents against escalating disputes over lunch contributions to Resident District Commissioners.
He said children who regularly went hungry risked developing health complications and struggling academically.
The cleric also urged parents to monitor their children’s use of smartphones, warning that unrestricted access to digital content could expose them to pornography and other harmful material.
As schools prepare for the national examinations, the concerns raised at Kawuku reflect the competing pressures facing public education: improving academic results, providing adequate learning facilities and ensuring that parents are not subjected to unlawful charges.
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