Ian Gumisiriza
The Government of Uganda is reportedly set to introduce mandatory six-month patriotism training for all Senior Six vacists across the country, beginning this year.According to Hellen Seku, the State House Private Secretary to the President on Youth and commissioner at the National Secretariat for Patriotism Corps, the government had agreed that all Senior Six vacists would be taken to the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi for the training.Patriotism patrons and coordinators would also attend the programme as part of refresher courses, Seku said.She made the revelation during a patriotism pass-out ceremony held at Immaculate Heart Girls School, Nyakibale, in Rukungiri Municipality.However, critics have questioned the feasibility and cost of implementing the proposed programme, particularly given the large number of students expected to participate.According to Ian Gumisiriza, the Special Presidential Assistant on the informal sector, it costs about Shs70,000 per person per day to accommodate and train participants at NALI in Kyankwanzi.“Even if NALI could accommodate all the 140K plus vacists that would be about 9.8bn per day, over 294bn per month...from which budget line would it be drawn?” wondered Gumisiriza.A total of 203,875 candidates are expected to sit for the 2026 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education examinations. If the proposal is implemented, a similar number of students could be expected to attend the six-month training programme at NALI in 2027.The projected cost has raised questions about whether the government has the facilities and financial resources required to accommodate and train all the students for the full duration of the programme.About The Author
