The manual registration and licensing of schools in Uganda is to be passed out. The Ministry of Education has announced that starting next year, the entire process will transition to a fully digital platform under the Education Management Information System (EMIS).
This move is expected to modernise school registration and management, making it more efficient and accessible.
According to Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo, the State Minister for Higher Education, the new digital system will eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic delays that have plagued the process in the past.
“This initiative will streamline school registration, cut down on paperwork, and improve accountability,” Dr. Muyingo explained.
The Ministry believes that this change will not only make the process faster but also increase transparency and ensure that all schools meet the required standards.
The minister added that the system is currently undergoing testing before its official launch.
Jenkins Twinomugisha, an EMIS consultant, explained to our reporter that a new feature has been added to the system, allowing school owners to either register or renew their institutions.
This feature lets them submit a letter of intent for first-time registration or renewal directly through the platform.
“Once the letter of intent is approved, school owners can upload all the necessary documents, like proof of ownership, land papers, approved building plans, details of classrooms, inspection reports, and teacher information. What used to take months can now be done in just two days if all documents are ready,” Twinomugisha stated.
In the past, this information had to be compiled into a physical file, and school owners had to go from office to office to get the required approvals, which ended with a final review by the commissioner.
Twinomugisha noted that with the new system, school owners no longer need to meet officials face-to-face. Instead, they can submit everything online and wait for approval or feedback.
“Once the documents are approved, schools will get a digital certificate that they can print out,” he added.
Vincent Ssozi, the Assistant Commissioner for Statistics, Monitoring, and Evaluation and the EMIS focal person stressed that the Ministry of Education will take the necessary steps to assist schools in using the new system.
He mentioned that additional training sessions are planned to ensure schools are fully equipped to navigate the platform effectively.
“More training will be provided on this module, and our EMIS support staff stationed in all local governments will also receive training to help build capacity for those who need assistance,” Ssozi stated.
He added that this new initiative aims to encourage private schools to adopt the EMIS system, as many have previously chosen not to use it.
This development comes as the ministry has been actively urging private schools to enroll in EMIS, a system designed to gather all education-related information.
However, many schools have been resistant to this call and current data shows that out of 61,572 private schools, only about 31,464, roughly 50 percent, have registered on the EMIS.
Additionally, even among those who have signed up, there is a significant gap in data submission. For instance, registered private schools have only uploaded information for 2.3 million learners.
Livingston Mugoya, a headteacher, expressed that many private schools have been skeptical about the EMIS, fearing that the data collected could be shared with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), potentially leading to tax complications.
He revealed that in some instances, school directors have instructed headteachers to register only a handful of students on the system, even when a school has as many as 300 learners.
Dr. Muyingo further acknowledged that private schools will be gradually integrated into the EMIS.
He noted that the initial rollout of the system lacked sufficient communication to private schools, but through ongoing dialogue, the ministry aims to include them without causing disruption.
However, the minister cautioned that if schools continue to resist compliance, the ministry may have to implement stronger measures to ensure they register with EMIS and submit the required data.
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