The study investigates the influence of teacher competence on the academic achievement of sixth
grade students in Uganda. The investigation is based on data sourced from the 2009 Southern
African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) survey comprising 5,148
records of sixth grade students enrolled in primary schools in Uganda. The percentage scores of
students and teachers in reading and numeracy tests were adopted as measures of academic
achievement and competence, respectively. The analysis was carried out using a multiple linear
regression clustered by six geographical regions in Uganda — eastern, western, southern,
northern, southwestern, and northeastern. In addition to teacher competency, students’ academic
achievement in the various disciplines was modeled by the student characteristics of age, sex,
rural-urban residence, class repetition status (any class), and length of pre-primary education.
The results showed students’ high academic achievement in reading and numeracy was
significantly associated with high teacher competency in the same disciplines. However, this
generalization may not hold for all students in all countries because of variations in learner
characteristics and the learning environment. Nevertheless, the findings suggest the need to
strengthen teacher competence as a measure to enhance students’ academic achievement in
formal education.