Uganda bans Civil servants from Running private schools and Hospitals, Muyingo spared
kakooza Peter
Monday, March 24, 2025
Minister JC Muyingo owner of Sseta High school
The Ugandan government has passed a new rule under the National Development Plan (NDP 4), which will run from July 2025 to July 2030. According to this plan, government teachers and doctors will no longer be allowed to own or run private schools and clinics. This decision was approved by the Cabinet to improve services in public institutions.
The main reason for this rule is that many government workers have been using public resources for their personal businesses. Some doctors and teachers have been accused of stealing medicines or school materials from government facilities and using them in their private ones. Others focus more on their private work and ignore their duties in public schools or hospitals—even though they are paid well by the government.
The government wants to make sure that these professionals concentrate on their public jobs and stop doing private business that creates a conflict of interest. For example, some medics miss work and tell patients to go to their own private clinics. In some cases, they falsely say that there is no medicine in public hospitals so that people go to their private pharmacies. This behavior gives the impression that Uganda doesn’t have enough health workers, even when there are enough.
Those who cannot stop doing both jobs will have to choose. They can either resign from government work and run their private business or stay in public service and leave the private side. However, it is feared that many might choose to quit government jobs because private work brings more money.
Despite this strict new rule, it does not apply to political leaders like Dr. JC Muyingo, the State Minister for Higher Education. He will still be allowed to continue running the Seeta High School chain, which he owns and founded. Since he is a Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament, the rule does not affect him. This makes his case a narrow escape from the ban.
Prof. Francis Omaswa, a well-known doctor and former Director General of Health Services, says this is not a new issue.
“This practice was there even during colonial days before Uganda attained independence,”he told New Vision. He explained that public hospitals later created private wings to allow doctors to treat paying patients without leaving the hospital. He thinks this idea can help again today if used properly.
Omaswa suggests that if private wings are strengthened in public hospitals, medics can serve both roles more responsibly.
“Such medics are enabled and permitted to do government work up to 5pm where after they can go to do work at their private clinics,”he added. He also said personal discipline is important, especially now that their salaries have been increased.
This new policy is part of the government's effort to improve service delivery and make sure civil servants are fully committed to public duties.
