This paper describes how the public education expenditure management system works in Uganda. It specifically identifies the formal roles of institutions, the structure and flow of information generated by the public expenditure management system, and applies them to the education sector in Uganda. It shows the procedures for each stage in the expenditure and budget process, and indicates how ongoing reform processes are modifying the system.

Purpose:

Efficient and effective public expenditure management is an essential precondition for government to be able to work towards achieving good education outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to see whether the public expenditure management system itself could be improved to lead to a better and more effective use of public resources on education.

Pressures from budgetary reform

The reform in the budgetary process placed considerable pressure on the education sector and the district local governments to improve operational skills in the areas of financial management, planning, monitoring, and implementation.

Challenges facing UPE:

UPE is therefore faced with a number of challenges, which include:

lack of (technical) capacity at the district level to cope with the new budgetary system;

delays in the release of funds that have constrained revenue utilisation in the districts.

Impact of poor absorption rates

A poor rate of absorption (performance) of UPE funds has affected primary education outcomes in several ways. For example, fewer classrooms than targeted got built, and fewer teachers than targeted were recruited within the planned period of time.