Impact of School Facilities Grant on Access and Learning Achievements in Public Primary Schools in Uganda: A Randomised Experiment

The study explored the impact of the availability of school facilities on the access and learning achievements in primary education in Uganda. It employed a randomised phase-in design by randomly assigning surveyed schools into phase I (treatment) and phase II (control). Of the 301 schools, 160 were randomly selected to receive a facilities grant (SFG) in FY2016/17 and FY2017/18 (phase I) while the remaining 141 were to receive the grant after 2019 (phase II). The results revealed a statistically significant impact on access and attendance in the lower grades of primary education. Schools that received SFG support in FY2017/18 and FY2016/17 significantly increased enrolment by 23.61 and 23.33 pupils, respectively, relative to the control group. The impacts in FY2016/17 and FY2017/18 on school attendance were 16.2 per cent and 13.2 per cent, respectively. Further, schools that received the grant in FY2017/18 recorded a significant increase in numeracy and literacy test scores by 1.28 and 1.05 percentage points, respectively, more than the control group. The study demonstrates that adequate school infrastructure remains a key component of learning support as it promotes access to education as well as students’ learning engagement. Further analysis is recommended to examine the appropriate and effective model of investment in school infrastructure. © 2023 Unisa Press.