When Naigaga Moureen joined Mbale Secondary School as a learner with a hearing impairment, she hoped education would give her independence and a future. Instead, for six years from Senior One to Senior Six, she struggled to learn in classrooms where sign language interpreters were largely absent.
“I faced a problem of sign language interpreters. The hearing students always ignored us,” Naigaga says. “Special needs teachers are very few, and those available are less experienced. Sometimes we learn in groups, sometimes other students learn from us.”
Meeting her in Iganga on a dusty Monday morning, Naigaga arrives on a boda boda with her former teacher, visibly exhausted from the journey. Dressed in a black sweater shirt and floral skirt, she speaks with both determination and frustration. After completing Senior Four, she tried to find work, but her dream remains to return to school.
“I want to upgrade and become a teacher so that I can save fellow Deaf students from the struggles we face in order to get a good education,” she says.
Naigaga’s experience is not unique. Across Uganda, learners with disabilities are enrolled in schools but denied the support they need to learn. While inclusive education is meant to bring all learners regardless of disability, gender, or background into the same classroom with appropriate support, the reality is far from this promise.
According to a Uganda National Action on Physical Disabilities (UNAPD) report (2018/2024), only about 9 percent of children with disabilities enroll in primary school, and just 6 percent complete primary education and transition to secondary school. Children with disabilities who do enroll are more likely to study in poorly resourced schools, with limited teacher training, inaccessible infrastructure, lack of assistive materials, and persistent social stigma.
Funding an inclusion promise on crumbs
At the center of Uganda’s inclusive education crisis is funding. Government support for learners with disabilities is mainly delivered through a Special Needs Education (SNE)subvention grant, separate from the general Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) capitation grants. The grant is intended to cover non-wage recurrent costs such as feeding learners with disabilities, instructional and assistive materials, medical and welfare needs, and basic school operations.
In practice, the subvention grant is extremely small accounting for less than 0.1 percent ofthe total education sector budget in most financial years. Schools report receiving between Shs 1–2 million per term, often inconsistently, late, or not at all.
Head teachers say the amount is insufficient to meet even basic needs, and confusion persists over whether the funds are distinct from general capitation or embedded within it. Budget monitoring reports from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) show that funding for SNE is aggregated within broader capitation allocations, making it difficult to track how much actually reaches learners with disabilities.
The MoFPED Human Capital Development Annual Monitoring Report for FY 2024/25 indicates that although the SNE subvention was fully released as part of the capitation grant, it benefited only about 0.12 percent of the total learner population roughly 10.7 million learners nationwide highlighting major gaps in identification and enrollment of learners with disabilities.
Impact in classrooms
At Bishop Willis Demonstration School in Iganga District, the funding gaps are evident. Founded in 1930 by the Church Missionary Society and now a government-aided primary school, Bishop Willis has long served as a center for inclusive and special needs education, particularly for learners with visual impairments. The school currently enrolls about 75 learners with special needs, supported by a small team of trained special needs teachers alongside mainstream classes, including a boarding facility for blind pupils.
“We have three trained special needs teachers, while others are still undergoing training,” says head teacher Malizi Daniel. “We lack essential learning materials, especially pupil Braille materials.”
In one classroom, Nakagulu Ritah, a Primary Five learner living with visual impairment, sits facing a closed circuit television (CCTV) machine used for large-print reading. Dressed in a pink-and-white patterned uniform, she speaks softly but firmly about her fears.The Machine designed to enhance accessibility and improve educational outcomes, helps learners with visual impairments follow lessons more effectively, making education more inclusive and interactive.
“I was told I will stop in Primary Seven,” she says. “But I want to go up to Senior Six and become a doctor. I call upon the government to provide Braille materials so our education can be smooth and inclusive.”
Nearby, Primary Four learner Mulwanyi Joshua practices on a Braille typing machine.
“I want to be an accountant because I like mathematics,” he says. “But we are abused because of blindness. People ask us, ‘Who told God to create you like that?’”
Joshua says he needs Braille slates and materials to study effectively. “If I get the tools, I can achieve my dream,” he adds.
The struggles faced by learners are mirrored by the teachers tasked with supporting them. Kakuma Eliya, a trained sign language interpreter and teacher living with hearing impairment, says teaching without resources is nearly impossible.
“Sign language is not well understood. There are no charts, books, plotters, or learning materials that cater for learners living with hearing impairments,” he explains.
At the same school, Aparo Anna, a visually impaired special needs teacher, says she often sources materials herself.
“We miss textbooks, assistants, and Braille references. Right now, I get materials from outside schools before I go to class,” she says.
where inclusion collapses
The challenges intensify during national examinations administered by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB). Teachers say accommodations promised in policy are often absent in practice.
“Our learners are given less time. Braille materials are a challenge. Diagrams in mathematics and science are not adapted,” Aparo says.
She adds that some learners with intellectual disabilities and visual impairments are denied support personnel altogether.
“They say these learners are only blind and can write for themselves,” she says.
Education advocates describe this as discriminatory and contrary to Uganda’s commitments under international agreements such as the Salamanca Statement on Special Needs Education (1994), which calls on governments to ensure inclusive learning environments for all children.
Secondary schools also struggling
At Iganga Secondary School, which was established in 1958 and began inclusive special needs education in the late 1960s, similar challenges persist. The school formally admitted learners with visual impairments alongside sighted students from the early 1970s, making it one of Uganda’s earliest inclusive secondary schools
According to head teacher Mulondo Barbra Tebusuwa, the school enrolls 21 visuallyimpaired learners and has four trained special needs teachers, but government support remains inconsistent.
“For the last financial year, we received no government funds,” she says. “The school depends on parents and well-wishers.”
The school lacks Braille converters, audio recorders, and devices to translate Braille into print, forcing learners to rely heavily on sighted peers. Many students drop out after Senior One or Senior Five due to financial constraints.
“Government support often comes only when learners reach university,” Mulondo says.
District perspective: funding and staffing gaps
At the district level, education officials acknowledge structural gaps. Namachukira Lydia, the Iganga District Education Officer in charge of Special Needs Education, says the district received Shs 15 million, while Shs 112 million was disbursed directly to schools. An additional Shs 8 million was allocated to facilitate selected district officers to reach schools and provide technical support.
She explains that funds are distributed based on the number of learners with disabilities enrolled in each school.
“There is a certain amount allocated per child, but as of now, we do not have a specific figure allocated to a particular learner,” Namachukira says.
On staffing, she notes that the district does not have a dedicated special needs teacher assigned to each school.
“That is why we encourage teachers to upgrade and acquire skills to cater for learners with special needs. So far, about 50 teachers have upgraded,” she adds.
Namachukira also acknowledges the absence of government-paid sign language interpreters.
“We do not have sign language interpreters on the government payroll. Those working in schools are paid privately. We are advocating for teachers or interpreters to be put on the government payroll,” she says.
A policy frozen in time
Uganda’s legal framework appears strong on paper. The 1995 Constitution, the Persons with Disabilities Act (2006), and Uganda’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) all guarantee the right to education for learners with disabilities. To operationalize these commitments, the Ministry of Education and Sports established a department responsible for Special Needs and Inclusive Education.
Yet implementation remains weak. A Draft Special Needs and Inclusive Education Policy, developed in 2011, has remained unapproved for more than 13 years. The draft policy recommends increased funding, provision of assistive devices, trained personnel, and clear guidelines for inclusive assessment.
Without an approved policy, schools operate in uncertainty, funding remains fragmented, and accountability is diffused across institutions.
Civil society: where the system breaks
Civil society organizations say structural changes have worsened the situation. Seera Leah Dianah, program manager at the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), explains that changes in how the subvention grant is released have caused delays and confusion.
“Previously, funds were released directly from the Ministry of Education’s Special Needs Department,” she says. “Now the money goes through local governments, which must verify school data before releasing it.”
“Many schools were not informed of this change,” Seera adds. “They are still waiting for the Special Needs Department to send money directly to their school accounts.”
She notes that the grant applies only to government-aided inclusive schools, leaving many learners outside the funding framework. The cost of assistive devices remains prohibitive.
“One Braille machine costs about Shs 3.8 million. Equipping 100 schools becomes very expensive,” she says. “We have asked government to increase the budget for learners living with disabilities.”
Alex Ogwal, CEO of Sign Language for All Uganda, stresses that inclusion must go beyond physical access.
“Special needs schools must be equipped with qualified teachers, accessible learning materials, assistive technologies, and inclusive infrastructure,” he says. “Inclusion is not charity it’s a right.”
Uncensored: Ministry of Education Response
Dr Dennis Mugimba, the spokesperson at the Ministry of Education and Sports, says the funding needs within the education sector are far greater than the resources currently available, noting that the challenge is not unique to special needs schools.
“When government releases UPE and USE grants, the special needs grants are released as well,” Mugimba explains. However, he adds that the amounts released often do not match the actual number of learners enrolled in special needs schools because of how the budgeting process works.
He explains that increases in learner enrolment are not reflected immediately. “If a school enrolls, for example, 50 new learners this year, that increase will only be captured in a future financial year. Learners enrolled in 2025 may only be reflected in the budget of the 2028 financial year,” Mugimba says.
Addressing claims by some schools that they have not received grants, Mugimba challenges them to specify when the funds were not received. “Schools should indicate clearly which month and year they did not receive the grants,” he says.
He further clarifies that enrolment figures do not originate from the Ministry of Education but from local governments. “Local governments are responsible for submitting enrolment data to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Education. If a school has a certain number of special needs learners, it is the duty of the local government to communicate this,” Mugimba explains.
According to Mugimba, the grant rates are standardized and non-negotiable. “As a ministry, we do not determine the rates of these grants. Our role is limited to requisition and allocation, not auditing,” he says.
He also notes that special needs grants are disbursed directly to schools and are budgeted under local governments, not under the Ministry of Education’s central budget.
What’s at stake
According to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, about 5.5 million Ugandans13.2 percent of the population live with disabilities. Of these, 434,922 have walking difficulties, 349,960 have remembering difficulties, 329,489 have low vision, 273,167 have hearing impairments, 184,991 have communication difficulties, 28,843 are blind, 41,431 are deaf, and 6,314 are deaf-blind.
For learners like Naigaga Moureen, these statistics translate into lived exclusion.
“My dream is to become a teacher and help others like me,” she says. “But without support, our dreams stop early.”
Until Uganda approves its long delayed inclusive education policy, clarifies and increases funding, and enforces accountability across institutions including examinations authorities’ learners with disabilities will continue to be included in law but excluded in practice.
