An independent not-for-profit organisation operating in Uganda since October 2019, Uwezo Uganda actively seeks to contribute to a society in which all children are learning and realising their full potential.
We work towards this by demonstrating how to improve learning outcomes and keeping communities and leaders focused on learning through assessment, research, innovations, partnerships and advocacy.
For 10 years, we generated and disseminated independent assessment data, and contributed to amplifying the evidence of low learning outcomes and the fact that schooling does not equate to learning as a program under Twaweza East Africa.
A society in which all children are learning and realising their full potential
To promote support for quality education for all through assessment, research, engagement and influencing, in collaboration with other stakeholders
We are delighted to invite you to the launch of the Uwezo Uganda 2024 National Learning Assessment Report titled Are our children learning? Learning recovery and challenges for Uganda, taking place on the 18th March 2025.
You can access more of our reports at https://uwezouganda.org/publications/reports
By Joseph Kasasa and Vincent Kalibbala
On Tuesday , 18th February 2025, we bid a heartfelt farewell to Winfred Mutoni who had served as the Administration and Communications intern since July 2025. As we paused to say goodbye, the staff at Uwezo Uganda reflected on the incredible contributions and qualities Winnie brought to our workplace.
Some of her qualities include, but not limited to her positive attitude towards work, colleagues noted her courage in facing challenges head-on, never shying away from new tasks that she had never done. Her willingness to take on new challenges was particularly admired, as she consistently demonstrated a proactive approach, eager to learn and grow in every situation.
In her farewell speech, she expressed deep gratitude to the
staff for their unwavering support throughout her tenure. She highlighted the
conducive work environment that allowed her to thrive, crediting the team’s support
and encouragement for her growth.
“Thank
you so much for the opportunity and guidance during this period. It has been
transformative for me and it will guide me in my next career”, Winfred lovingly
noted.
To Winfred, we extend our warmest farewell and wish you the very best of luck in your new journey ahead. May your future be filled with success, growth, and endless opportunities to shine as brightly as you did here.
To learn more about our graduate internships, who can apply and how, please visit our website at https://uwezouganda.org/careers/internships
By Vincent Kalibbala and Joseph Kasasa
Yesterday,
18th February 2025, Uwezo Uganda handed over chairship of the
People’s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network) Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Hub to Usawa
Agenda, having served in the role since 2023. Leading this
incredible network has been an honor and a privilege. We extend our
sincere gratitude to the PAL Network Secretariat for their invaluable support
over the past two years—Asante sana! Much appreciation to fellow ESA Hub member
organisations, including Zizi Afrique Foundation, Youth Impact, Facilidade, UwezoTanzania and Usawa Agenda, for your passion and dedication as we collectively
continued to pursue a region where all children acquire a foundation for
lifelong learning, through assessment, research, action and advocacy. Together
we can continue to make a difference.
Congratulations,
and best wishes to Usawa Agenda as you steer us into the future!
For more information about the work of the PAL Network, please visit: https://palnetwork.org/
Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE)
– Uganda participated and presented at the
9th Schools administrators workshop organised by the Kingdom of Buganda on the importance of Social - Emotional Learning and its role in
Education: Nurturing Students Holistically". Administrators were enlighted
on the ALiVE approach in nurturing and assessing the non-cognitive skills
(Values and Lifeskills). The presentation can be accessed here
By Judith Nyakaisiki
On 5th February 2025, Uwezo
Uganda participated in the Language Development and Advocacy Network (LDAN)
Workshop. The Workshop aimed to:
- Advance
ideas, connections and proposals highlighting the roles
of languages and communication in
development
- Ensure that issues of concern represent broad, diverse,
equitable and inclusive perspectives, and
- Engage
with organisations and communities from different world regions working
within this field to
collaborate, advise, learn from, shape and help steer this area of
interest, including developing policy,
research and practice priorities; informing researchers,
decision-makers and practitioners; all while
encouraging local perspectives, priorities and proposals.
Dr Mary
Goretti Nakabugo, Uwezo Uganda Executive Director, was one of the panelists at
the workshop. Her presentation centered on the relevance of LDAN to a
developing country context such as Uganda. She mainly focused on the issue of
using mother tongue / local language as a medium of instruction and how
this relates to learning outcomes. She shared that, in Uganda, there is an
existing language policy, which requires the use of pupils' mother tongues or a
common area language as a medium of instruction from Primary 1 to Primary 3.
She argued that while the policy is well-intentioned, it is faced with a
number of challenges in practice and has not yet translated into desirable
learning outcomes. For example, due to the linguistic diversity of Uganda even
within smaller geographical areas, choosing to use one local language as a
medium of instruction in one given village may exclude some learners who do not
speak the language, thus, affecting their learning.
In all this, she noted teachers
to be a key factor, yet they have hardly been well-supported to implement the
language policy. A recent spotlight study report on basic education completion
and foundational learning in Uganda highlighted a scarcity of curriculum
documents and teacher guides. Where these existed, they were all in English,
inserting more pressure on the teachers to be language interpreters while
delivering the curriculum (Nakabugo et al 2024)[1].
In her final submission, Dr
Nakabugo argued that, improving children’s learning outcomes requires much more
than simply having in place a language in education policy that requires the
use of local language as a medium of instruction. Other factors, such as
support to teachers, availability of resources, the support to learners and
parental and community awareness of the value of the policy need to be
considered.
The full presentation can be accessed here
Uwezo Uganda is gearing up for the assessment of basic
numeracy and literacy skills to be conducted in 29 districts previously
assessed in 2021 per the link- https://uwezouganda.org/district-partners.
Assessment in the same districts will enable us undertake a comparative
analysis and deeper understanding of the post COVID changes in learning
outcomes. The assessment planned for July-August 2024, will obtain data at
school and household level as well as involve generation of child (4-16)
assessment data.
Our previous learning assessment reports can be accessed
here: https://uwezouganda.org/publications/reports/
Uwezo Uganda is partnering with Luigi Giussani Foundation to pilot ALiVE assessment tools in three districts of Jinja, Kasese and Oyam. The household assessment has just been concluded 03rd - 05th May 2024, targeting adolescents 13 -17 years, in 25 Enumeration Areas / villages in each district and 15 households in each enumeration area. Overall, a total of 1,125 adolescents have been assessed in the 3 districts. The ALiVE pilot assessment focused on three Life Skills (Problem-Solving, Collaboration, and Self-awareness) and one Value (Respect). The pilot will not only enable further generation of data on these competencies but will also be used to yield a repository of tools for ALiVE's open-source platform as well as those that can be used by partners to evaluate programs that focus on life skills and values integration and nurturing.
