Uganda’s education ministry, through its State Minister for Primary Education, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, has banned automatic promotion in UPE schools.
The directive by Minister Kaducu takes immediate effect. It is aimed at addressing the concerning failure rate.
In Kaducu’s view, when teachers promote learners with poor grades, the decision results in poor performance in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
The minister made it clear there was no policy on automatic promotion of learners, adding that only those who qualify to be promoted should go to the next level.
“Where is the policy?” Minister Kaducu told headteachers from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in a meeting at Nakasero Primary School on February 27, 2026.
“We don’t have any written policy that supports automatic promotion of learners; they are supposed to be promoted on merit.”
The minister argued that teachers misinterpreted the ministry’s verbal instructions that she says were intended to stop teachers from failing UPE pupils.
Commissioner for Basic Education Dr Cleophus Mugenyi supported Kaducu’s view, saying it was imprudent to promote learners who lacked basic competences like numeracy and literacy.
“You cannot automatically push a child who cannot write his or her name, count from one to 100, or recite the alphabet,” noted Dr Mugyenyi.
It should be remembered that over 77,000 candidates failed PLE in 2025.
You can see the lists of best performing schools in Uganda in PLE 2025 Here, There and Over There.
