NRM's Museveni urges Ugandans to support free education policy

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National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential flagbearer and the incumbent, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has urged all Ugandans to support his policy of free education for all in government schools.

He made the call on Saturday (November 1) while addressing his first campaign rally of the day at Katakwi district's Booma Grounds in Katakwi district, before moving on to Amuria district for his second rally.

Museveni, who is seeking his seventh consecutive presidential term, was accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni.

“I want to go to Heaven; I don’t want to go to Hell. When I go to meet God and He says, ‘You man, you were leading Uganda, and children were dropping out of school. What did you do?’ I will say I told them (people in power) and they refused,” he said.

And if God asked who refused, Museveni said he would single out headteachers, parents and teachers’ associations, foundation bodies and even the population for keeping quiet about the issue.

However, the President said he would tell God that after people refused to support the policy, he decided to come up with the presidential skilling initiative, where the school dropouts are trained for free and given start-up capital for their own businesses upon graduation.

“When they didn’t support me, I said no, there is an area where I don’t share authority with anybody else, and that is the State House. So, I told State House to establish skilling centres where I train children free of charge, and I am sure my graduates are here,” he told a huge crowd what he would tell God.

The rally venue was a giant swathe of yellow, with supporters wearing yellow T-shirts bearing Museveni's image.

The President then invited some graduates from the area’s skilling hub to give testimonies.

Thereafter, Museveni told the crowd, “And this is the evidence I will give to God. I will tell God that when the people in power blocked me, I used where I had some authority to train children who had no hope, they had dropped out of school because of school fees.”

The NRM presidential candidate noted that he has been trying to persuade people in power to support the policy of free education since taking power in 1986.

“Some people supported for some time, then they started collecting money, and the children dropped out of school. However, I trained them for just six months and they have become very useful people,” he said.

He promised to increase the money presidential skilling hubs get in every zonal region of the country.

'Not a joke'

On September 24, 2025, the skilling hubs received 8.8 billion shillings from State House, with each savings and credit cooperative organisation (SACCO) entitled to 50 million shillings.

“I have now created a SACCO for them in each district and I have already put in 50 million shillings, and we can add more so that they borrow and do things which we have been importing like shoes and furniture,” said Museveni.

“In the coming government, I really appeal to you, the NRM members, to accompany me when we are going to Heaven. I don’t want to leave you behind and you go to Hell because of blocking these children.

It is not a joke. When we block these children’s future, God will not be happy with us."