The Minister of Education and First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni, has called on organizers of the National Education Show to ensure that all innovations and technologies exhibited by learners are properly documented and protected.
In a message delivered by the Minister of State for Higher Education, Dr. Chrysostom Muyingo, during the ongoing show in Jinja City on Wednesday, Mrs. Museveni emphasized the importance of safeguarding learners’ creative work.
She noted that the knowledge and effort students invest in developing these innovations make them deserving of recognition and intellectual property protection.
She urged government ministries and agencies to work closely with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to facilitate the proper documentation and registration of learners’ inventions.
According to Mrs. Museveni, this would help prevent piracy and enable young innovators to earn meaningful incomes from their creations.
Describing the National Education Show as a “notepad for innovation,” the First Lady encouraged learners to see themselves not merely as consumers of knowledge but as creators capable of leveraging their education to build sustainable livelihoods.
She also challenged schools to translate classroom-based agricultural skills into practice through school gardens. These, she said, could serve as platforms for applying agricultural technologies and promoting knowledge transfer.
On his part, Dr. Muyingo highlighted the impressive agricultural innovations on display as clear evidence of the impact of the new competence-based curriculum, which prioritizes practical skills and creativity over rote learning.
“From the learners’ exhibitions, I am confident Uganda is ready for an agricultural revolution that will transform household incomes and create sustainable jobs,” Muyingo said.
He added that innovations from primary schools to institutions of higher learning demonstrate the country’s potential to drive knowledge-based industrialization in the agriculture sector.
Meanwhile, the President of the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), Dick Kamuganga, called on the Ministry of Education to partner with the Ministry of Agriculture to organize national competitions recognizing top school innovators.
Kamuganga noted that while some student innovations have already reached the market, others remain at the prototype stage due to limited capital.
He urged the Ministry of Education to establish a dedicated innovation fund to help learners advance and commercialize their technologies.
“This fund would help students identify meaningful partnerships and scale their innovations, contributing to job creation and economic growth,” Kamuganga said.
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