A Belief That Started It All
Ten years ago, we started with almost nothing. No office. No funding. Just a strong conviction that one day, all children in Uganda would attain an equitable quality education. We believed that if we could develop the right leaders, we could begin transforming our education system from the inside out.
Was it easy? No.
There were moments of doubt. There were long nights and uncomfortable conversations. Many people told us it wouldn’t work. They said no graduate would commit two years to teaching in a rural primary school. That educational inequity was too big, too political, and too complex to change.
And yet, ten years later, Teach For Uganda stands as proof that belief, when combined with leadership and collective action, can create real change.
As we mark this milestone, I find myself filled with gratitude. Gratitude for the children whose confidence has grown in classrooms across the country. Gratitude for the communities that welcomed us into their schools and homes. And gratitude for the young graduates, our Fellows, who stepped into classrooms and discovered not just a career, but a calling.
Through our two-year teaching fellowship, many of these young leaders have found purpose in serving humanity and transforming lives.
A Changing Education Landscape
Uganda’s education landscape has evolved significantly over the past decade.
One of the most notable shifts has been the transition from a knowledge-based curriculum to a competency-based curriculum that emphasizes practical skills, application, and critical thinking. Learning itself has also changed, particularly with the integration of digital technology in education, an evolution accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There has also been important progress in expanding access to basic education, advancing teacher policy reforms, and strengthening skills-based learning. Today, primary school enrollment is estimated at 96 percent, demonstrating significant progress in expanding access.
In 2019, the Government introduced the New Teacher Policy to professionalize and standardize the teaching profession and strengthen teacher development and management. The rollout of the lower secondary competency-based curriculum, and its recent extension to Advanced Level, alongside increased emphasis on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), has shifted the focus toward 21st-century skills and learner-centered education.
Yet despite these gains, Uganda, like many countries, continues to face a learning crisis.
Learning poverty, defined as the share of children unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age ten, is estimated by the World Bank and UNESCO at 83 percent. This statistic is deeply concerning because it signals that many children are in school but not learning.
However, reforms such as the New Teacher Policy give reason for hope. If the past decade has taught us anything, it is this: the quality of teachers ultimately determines the quality of education.
Building Leaders, Changing Classrooms
Since 2016, Teach For Uganda has been privileged to work alongside schools and communities across the country to support better learning outcomes for children.
Over the past decade, we have recruited and developed 568 Fellows, who have directly impacted 86,578 learners across 13 districts and 190 partner schools. Beyond the classroom, our work has also cultivated a growing network of 405 alumni leaders who continue advancing change across education, policy, and community development in Uganda.
Through our Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL)-inspired approach and intensive instructional coaching model, we have also seen measurable improvements in foundational learning.
In the past year alone, literacy improved from 2 percent at baseline to 7 percent at endline, while numeracy increased from 3.5 percent to 18 percent.
Behind these numbers are thousands of children discovering their potential. They are learners gaining confidence, families rediscovering hope, and communities beginning to break generational cycles of poverty through education.
These stories remind us that when leadership enters a classroom, transformation becomes possible.
Leadership: The Heart of the Movement
Before we launched Teach For Uganda, I believed leadership was defined by a title or position. Ten years later, I understand it very differently.
Leadership is choosing not to look away. It is taking ownership of a challenge and acting with courage, integrity, and excellence to address it.
Over the past decade, I have seen many Fellows enter classrooms with passion. But the ones who create lasting change carry something deeper than passion. They carry conviction.
I remember a Fellow from our first cohort named Patricia. She was quiet and thoughtful, but her lesson planning was impeccable. Within a year, Patricia had transformed her classroom. Her learners were more confident, their literacy and expression had improved, and she built strong relationships with both students and parents through regular home visits.
To this day, Patricia continues to return to her school to mentor girls and encourage them to stay in school.
Fellows like Patricia demonstrate what real leadership looks like: quiet courage, deep humility, and an unwavering belief that every child deserves better.
Over the years, I have come to understand that leadership is less about charisma and more about courage. The courage to keep going when funding falls through. The courage to take responsibility when resources are limited and challenges are complex.
But most importantly, leadership is belief, the belief that a child in a remote village in Buliisa deserves the same quality of education as any child anywhere in the world.
The Power of Partnership
Launching something new is never easy, especially when asking others to believe in a vision before there is proof of impact.
In our early years, we had conviction and passion but no impact data and no track record. It took courage and trust for partners to invest in the possibility.
Organizations such as the Isroff Family Foundation, the U.S. Embassy in Uganda, the Varkey Foundation, the Pershing Square Foundation, Teach For All, the Ministry of Education and Sports, Luwero District leadership, our partner schools, and our founding Board members believed in this vision from the beginning.
Their trust gave us legitimacy, momentum, and the confidence to continue building even when the road ahead felt uncertain.
Our partner schools and donors have shaped our work in profound ways. They have reminded us that sustainable change must be co-created, practical, and grounded in community realities.
Meaningful partnership, I have learned, is built on trust, transparency, shared purpose, and patience.
Because transforming systems takes time, it takes all of us working together.
The Next Decade of Possibility
As we look ahead, the next ten years will demand even more from our education system.
Uganda must now move from access to quality, and from quality to equity. It is no longer enough for children to be in school; they must be learning.
We must invest more deeply in teacher development, instructional leadership, and accountability systems that support mastery of foundational skills.
At the same time, the future will require new competencies. STEM education and climate literacy can no longer be optional. These fields must become practical, inclusive, and accessible, especially for girls, so that Uganda’s young people are prepared for a rapidly changing world.
But perhaps most importantly, we must continue to develop collective leadership across classrooms, schools, and systems.
When I look toward 2036, I see a generation of courageous leaders, many shaped by their classroom experiences today, working across sectors to transform education in Uganda.
Ten years ago, Teach For Uganda began with a belief.
Today, we see that belief has already begun to change.
And the next decade is only just beginning.
About the Author
This article was written by Charlotte Iraguha, Managing Director-Teach For Uganda, an indigenous non-profit organization working to advance equitable access to quality education for children in underserved communities. Through its two-year teaching fellowship, Teach For Uganda recruits and develops leaders who teach in under-resourced schools while building a lifelong movement committed to transforming Uganda’s education system.
