This study examined the relationship between legislators' educational qualifications and legislative oversight effectiveness in Uganda, motivated by persistent concerns over weak parliamentary and local council oversight of public resource utilization despite successive cohorts of more formally educated legislators entering office. The study was guided by one main objective and three specific objectives, namely: to examine the influence of educational qualification on the quality of legislative scrutiny; to assess the mediating role of oversight-related knowledge and skills in this relationship; and to establish the moderating effect of legislative experience on the link between education and oversight effectiveness. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, drawing a sample of 220 legislators and council members from national and selected local government legislative bodies, selected through stratified random sampling. Data were analysed using univariate statistics (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations), bivariate techniques (one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and chi-square tests of association), and structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the hypothesised direct, mediated and moderated pathways linking education to oversight effectiveness. The univariate results showed that the majority of legislators held a bachelor's degree (42.3%), followed by certificate/diploma holders (33.6%) and postgraduate holders (24.1%). Bivariate analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in mean oversight effectiveness scores across educational categories (F(2,217) = 86.38, p < .001), with postgraduate holders recording the highest mean score (M = 75.4, SD = 8.9) compared to bachelor's degree holders (M = 63.1, SD = 8.8) and certificate/diploma holders (M = 52.4, SD = 7.8). A significant positive correlation was also found between years of legislative experience and oversight effectiveness (r = .234, p = .0005), and a significant association between educational qualification and the level of oversight engagement (χ²(4) = 72.89, p < .001). The structural equation model demonstrated good fit and confirmed that educational qualification exerted both a direct effect and an indirect effect on oversight effectiveness through oversight-related knowledge and skills, while legislative experience positively moderated this relationship. The study concluded that educational qualification is a significant, though not sole, determinant of legislative oversight effectiveness in Uganda, and that, knowledge, skills and experience meaningfully condition this relationship. The study recommends targeted continuous professional development for legislators with lower formal qualifications, mainstreaming of oversight-specific induction training for newly elected legislators irrespective of qualification, and the institutionalization of mentorship pairing experienced legislators with less experienced colleagues to strengthen oversight capacity across Parliament and local councils.