Education ministry tightens standards for construction of school facilities
The directive is contained in Circular No. 9/2026, dated August 17, 2026, issued to all Chief Administrative Officers, city clerks and town clerks
KAMPALA, August 30,2026 — The Ministry of Education and Sports [MoES] has directed local governments to tighten supervision and quality control in the construction of education facilities, citing a decline in the quality of works and compliance with approved designs and standards.
The directive is contained in Circular No. 9/2026, dated August 17, 2026, issued to all Chief Administrative Officers, city clerks and town clerks. The ministry said recent monitoring of local government-based construction projects found that although completion rates were satisfactory, the overall quality of works and adherence to ministry standards were declining.
Under the new requirements, annual district, municipal and city work plans for education-sector construction projects must receive approval from the ministry before implementation begins.
The ministry has also directed district, municipal and city engineers to ensure that construction of primary and secondary school facilities follows the latest designs and standards issued by the ministry.
For higher institutions of learning, proposed development projects must have their design drawings submitted to the Assistant Commissioner, Construction Management Unit, for approval before implementation.
Local governments given greater responsibility
The ministry’s Construction Management Unit is undergoing reorganisation, during which Assistant Engineering Officers from the ministry who had been stationed in local governments have been withdrawn.
As a result, district, municipal and city engineers, together with Works Department personnel, will assume full responsibility for quality control, cost control and project timelines for local-government-based construction projects.
The ministry’s Construction Management Unit will, however, continue monitoring district construction projects to assess compliance with approved designs, standards and specifications.
A ranking system is also to be developed to assess and rank local governments visited during a financial year according to their performance.
Schools required to install lightning protection
The ministry has further directed all local governments to incorporate lightning protection systems in the construction of new school facilities.
The directive says lightning continues to pose a threat to the lives of learners and teachers and can cause serious damage to buildings.
The protection systems are required to comply with IEC 62305, the current lightning-protection standard referenced by the ministry, which provides for risk assessment of structures and the services connected to them.
The ministry issued the measures as part of its technical support, guidance, coordination and regulation of education-sector infrastructure, ahead of the 2026/2027 financial year.
The circular was signed by Dr. Kedrace R. Turyagyenda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Sports.
https://thecooperator.news/ministry-of-education-maintains-ban-on-music-artists/
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