Local Innovation and Partnerships: Uganda’s Commitment to Digital Inclusion
In Uganda, many schools lack reliable internet connectivity, disadvantaging students and deepening urban-rural education gaps. Addressing these challenges, the Research and Education Network for Uganda(RENU), a non-profit organization, is showing the way forward for the digital transformation of education nationwide.
Having started in 2006 as a small National Research and Education Network (NREN) that focused on the connectivity needs of universities and research organizations, the RENU Network today includes over 900 entities and 70% of Uganda’s higher education institutions, linking them with national, regional and global peers.
In 2018, RENU broadened its mission to include schools and other tertiary institutions. The organization has connected 300 secondary schools to the internet, bringing digital learning to both cities and rural areas. While this number accounts for less than 1% of the nation’s total, RENU’s current strategic plan (2024–2028) is designed to connect an additional 300 schools, bringing the total to 600, as well as to improve both on-campus and off-campus connectivity and promote greater utilization of digital tools.
RENU launched its school connectivity programme in 2019 in collaboration with the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the nation’s regulator, which provided funding through the country’s Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF) to initially connect 54 schools.
