By KT Reporter
Kyambogo Hill is becoming a centralized hub for agencies under the Ministry of Education and Sports in a move to reduce rent costs and streamline service delivery.
Government land on the hill already hosts Kyambogo University, the National Curriculum Development Centre, and the Directorate of Education Standards. More agencies are preparing to relocate from rented premises in different parts of Kampala.
The hill carries historical weight. It once held a royal palace where Kabaka Muteesa I met explorer Henry Morton Stanley in 1875. Sources in Buganda history record that this meeting led to a written appeal to Europe for missionaries and teachers.
Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports, explained that the ministry decided to distribute land at Kyambogo to its agencies. She said many of the agencies have spent years renting office space in private buildings across the city.
Turyagyenda expects cost savings and better efficiency. The PS explained that centralizing education outfits, which often serve the same clients from distant locations, will reduce queues, cut public transport costs, and speed up coordination among technical departments.
“With most of the offices coming here, we expect gains on two fronts. We will cut rent costs from locations across the city, and we will save clients from moving across town in search of different offices under the same ministry. This will improve efficiency,” Dr Turyagyenda said.
The latest addition to the hill is a national skilling and assessment centre, serving as headquarters for the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board and the TVET Council. The project, located along Kigobe Road, cost 26 billion shillings and was funded directly by the government.
Onesimus Owesigye, the UVTAB Executive Secretary, noted that the new facility reduces operating expenses. Owesigye added that they have been spending over 300 million shillings each year on rent for three office spaces scattered in Kisaasi and Ntinda.
While opening the building on Friday evening, Education Minister Janet Museveni said the centre aligns with ongoing TVET reforms. She noted that the facility brings key institutions under one roof, unlike before, when offices were scattered across the city. She stressed that centralizing the sector will improve efficiency.
The eight-storey building includes offices, a modern auditorium, boardrooms, meeting spaces, innovation and incubation hubs, a crèche for breastfeeding staff, and a wellness area.
It also includes an adjacent three-storey tower. The facility adds to a growing cluster of education agencies on the hill, including the Uganda Health Professionals’ Accreditation Board, the National Council for Higher Education, the Inter-University Council for East Africa, and the Uganda National Examinations Board.
The Ministry of Education is constructing its headquarters in the same Kyambogo cluster, with projected annual rent savings of 4.5 billion shillings once complete.
The ministry currently pays for private office space for technical departments across the city. Higher education and basic education officers sit at Legacy Towers in Nakasero. Various projects operate from the Rwenzori Courts, while the Sports Department sits at Statistics House, among others.
Public expenditure records show the government spends over 100 billion shillings each year on rent. Civil society groups and opposition leaders have questioned this spending, arguing that the money could instead be used to build modest headquarters for agencies without permanent office space.
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