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School fees crisis hits parents hard
What you need to know:
- The extent of the problem was brought into sharp focus in Kampala where, ideally, the more financially able reside, but less than 50 percent of school-going children were back in class.
Thousands of parents across the country have not been able to take their children back to school as term one opened having failed to raise the high fees being charged, a situation which has sparked outrage in Parliament and elsewhere.
The extent of the problem was brought into sharp focus in Kampala where, ideally, the more financially able reside, but less than 50 percent of school-going children were back in class.
Mr Charles Magnot, the director of education and social services at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), told a meeting of more than 100 head teachers and administrators of city schools yesterday that the situation “is bad”.
“We sampled some schools yesterday (Monday) and we found that in most schools, attendance was less than 50 percent and a number of teachers had not yet reported back,” he said.
Mr Magnot blamed the unfolding situation on the long list of requirements, high school functional charges, and school fees for the low turnout.
“Make arrangements to receive children without barriers so that you allow them to be fully back to school. Right now, there are concerns that some schools are banning children from attending school because of fees and charges,” he said.
Earlier, reports carried by this newspaper on Tuesday suggested a countrywide low turnout largely blamed on parents’ failure to raise school dues, including additional functional fees and requirements.
Sounding startled by the unfolding situation, the State Minister for Education (Sports), Mr Peter Ogwang, yesterday made another government promise to do something about the matter.
“Aware that the powers to regulate school fees are based on the minister and the Education Act, ...as government, we will listen to some of these issues case by case. But I want to tell you, government is committed to ensuring we have quality education affordable to all the people of Uganda,” he said.
According to schedule 3, paragraph 10(d) of the Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary) Act, 2008, school boards are mandated to, among others, fix fees and other charges with the approval of the Education minister. The minister may, by statutory instrument, make regulations for all or any of the following matters: 57(g) regulating the fees payable at any school.
Anger in Parliament
At Parliament where the issue of high and rising school fees has been a big point of contention, MPs reacted with anger to the latest increase, wondering why the Education ministry is quiet about what has become an issue of national concern.
Ms Sara Achieng Opendi (Tororo District Woman), who has been vocal on the issue, yesterday said it is unfortunate that government has continued to ignore the plight of parents and learners.
She wondered why top government schools continue to charge exorbitant fees yet they receive public funding.
“As per the Constitution, education is a right, implying that government must ensure it provides education services to the population. As per the Education Act, there is a section that mandates the Ministry of Education to regulate the school fees, especially in the grant-aided schools and the government schools,” she said.
“The private schools may have their own charges, but the grant-aided schools, where government even puts in taxpayers’ money to support, construct some of the buildings, but also pays teachers, you still find the charges are as high as a purely private school that has nothing from the government,” she added.
Ms Opendi last year moved a motion seeking a House resolution for government to enforce regulation of school fees. That matter remains stuck in the Speaker’s office.
“The purpose of that motion was to enable us to discuss the grant-aiding of these schools. But that motion has never been disposed of, so the exploitation continues. What annoys the more is that some grant-aided schools are charging as much as Shs3m, others Shs2.8 million. I’m even shocked that even getting places for Senior One, now people must pay,” she said.
For Mr Samuel Opio Acuti (MP Kole North), enough is enough. He says he has issued a final ultimatum to the ministry before proceeding to court.
“If you look at university, there’s tuition fees, accommodation fees and administrative fees. Only three categories of fees, but some schools have up to 29 items being defined as school fees because government has liberalised it. We also have requirements that you come with in addition to school fees… These are some of the things that are driving the cost very high. So there is need to standardise the school fee structure,” he said.
Mr Joseph Ssewungu, the shadow minister of education, said the failure to introduce a policy to manage school fees is a sign of a failed government.
“What I am demanding as shadow minister is for the Ministry of Education to bring the policy and regulations to Parliament. I have raised this issue before but we have been ignored. Our children continue to suffer and drop out of school and yet government looks on,” he said.
Mr Denis Lee Oguzu (Maracha MP), a member of the House committee on Education, accused government officials of doing nothing about something which is affecting a large section of the population.
“These people have failed the people of Uganda. They are not there on their own, but on behalf of Ugandans, so they must be called to order,” he said.
He also faulted the education committee leadership for dragging their feet on the matter concerning a report on school fees which Parliament directed them to compile last year.
“It is the committee leadership that must answer for the delay in presenting the report. They are the ones who determine the business of the committee and for this particular case, they have kept quiet and I am suspecting that something must be wrong. So, we shall raise this issue on the floor of Parliament so that the Speaker can force them to act,” he said.
Efforts to reach either the committee chairperson, Mr John Twesigye, or his deputy, Mr James Kubeketerya, were futile throughout the day.
During the interview with Monitor, Mr Ogwang was at loss as to why public schools charge high fees when most of their expenses are met by the government.
“Government pays salaries for all teachers who are in government schools. Government buys instructional materials for their support. The government constructs classrooms and provide even accommodation for most of these teachers in government-aided schools,” he said.
He said his ministry, together with that of Finance, are working to ensure more funds are availed to the schools to check the exorbitant fees they are charging, ostensibly to cover other costs.
“For instance, we are now beginning to work with the government to help us put additional money into the education sector to support areas of number one, having full-time payment of teachers. Number two, government has gone ahead to recruit additional 4,000 teachers, which as I speak now, they are being given appointment letters,” he said.
He said there should be absolutely no reason for schools turnout to be low in government schools because according to him, education in such schools is free of charge.
“We as a ministry, we are not aware of these additional levies which are coming in… There’s no need for a learner to be stopped from going to school because a parent has failed to pay certain fee. That is wrong,” he said.
“So, now that these issues have come up, we will sit as the Ministry of Education, review it, then come back to the public with a statement to guide on the way forward,” he said.
Last Friday, the state minister represented his boss, Education Minister and First Lady, Ms Janet Museveni, at the end of the Senior One selection exercise in Kampala where he warned schools against hiking school charges amid hard economic times.
“Some of you have been observant that the question of fees increment, has kept coming up. I, therefore, put it to you that as the term begins, let us be mindful of where we are as a country. Don’t over charge fees. The circular that the ministry sent to you is very clear,” Mr Ogwang said.
His latest warning follows an earlier circular which his ministry had issued to schools after a report tabled by the House committee on Education in Parliament last year indicated exorbitant school fees being charged by government-aided schools in Kampala Metropolitan Area.
The report, which MPs criticised for allegedly being narrow, was sent back with proposals that it be re-drafted with wider terms for government regulation of school fees nationwide. It is that report which Mr Oguzu observed may be being frustrated by his committee leadership.
According to the Ministry of Education directives, only schools which indicate what have been referred to as a genuine reason for adjusting school charges can do so with authorisation.
Fees at some top schools
School | Old fees | New fees |
Trinity College Nabbingo | Shs1,955,000 | |
Uganda Martyrs Namungongo | Shs2,225,000 | |
St Peters Naalya | Shs1,603,000 | |
Seeta High School | Shs2,340,000 | |
St Mary Kitende | Shs2.3m | |
Iganga SS | Shs1,469,000 | |
Kings College Budo | Shs2.3m | Shs2.5m |
Namilyango Boys School | Shs2,250,000 | |
Gayaza High School | Shs 1.8m | Shs2.4m |
Nagalama High School | Shs2.1m | |
Mengo Senior School | Shs1,075,100 | |
St Mary’s College Kisubi | Shs2.4m | Shs2.7m |
Katikamu | Shs1.2m | |
Jinja College | Shs1.3m | Shs1.3m |
London College St Lawrence | Shs1.6m | |
Gombe SS | Shs1.5m | |
Kabalega S S | Shs689,100 | |
“No school, private or government, shall increase school fees for whatever reason without written authorisation from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Sports and/or chief administrative officer/town clerk as the case may be. Other cash and non-cash requirements outside the approved school fees structure are strictly prohibited. All non-cash items must be catered for in the school budget,” the directives issued last year say.
However, these directives and guidelines have largely been ignored.
Schools across the country have been defiant, refusing to yield to the government directives. A mini-survey conducted by this publication last week showed that several schools raised fees by between Shs20,000 and Shs300,000 for the first term. These increments have had a devastating effect already as shown by the low turnout, and may aggravate the problem of school drop-outs.
The United Nations Children’s Fund 2021/2022 Global Education Monitoring Report features Uganda as one of the countries where 30 percent of the families have to borrow to afford their children’s education.
Where money cannot be borrowed, children inevitably drop out of school. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) states in its National Housing Survey 2019/2020 that six out of every 10 learners drop out of school because of high cost.
However, Mr Ismail Mulindwa, the director of basic and secondary education in the Ministry of Education, responding to a recent concern raised by the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights about the cost of education in Uganda, said while the cost of education in Uganda is not so high, it still takes a significant percentage of the majority of families’ total incomes.
Mr Mulindwa noted that there is also the clamour for higher fee schools that parents consider to be providing a better chance for their children to score better grades.
“Such parents are less inclined to take their children to government-subsidised Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools, “he said.
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Lawyer Micheal Aboneka noted that although the Ministry of Education has the power to direct on school charges and requirements to ensure all children enjoy their right to quality education, it has let the country down.
“What is the connection between rugs, paint, etc with studying? Parents struggle to pay school fees, and then they are burdened with these unnecessary requirements. It is unfortunate that the ministry is sleeping on its job,” Mr Aboneka said.
Mr Friday Rwamahe, an educationist, said “as Chinua Achebe writes in his book, Things Fall Apart, things have fallen apart, the centre cannot hold.”
“When education of Uganda became liberalised, everyone joined education as a business. Businessmen without even an education background or knowledge joined the lucrative business. Primary education today is more expensive than university education,”Mr Rwamahe said.
He said several parents were forced to take their children out of UPE and USE schools to private ones in search of quality education where the rising fees have now began to take their toll as has been witnessed this beginning of term.
Compiled by Franklin Draku, Jane Nafula, Priscilla Maloba, Karim Muyobo, Lydia Felly Akullu, Busein Samilu, Moses Ndhaye, Felix Warom Okello, Clement Aluma, Robert Muhereza, Emmanuel Arineitwe, George Muron, Felix Ainebyoona, Julius Byamukama, Jovita Kyarisiima, Tobbias Jolly Owiny, Diphus Kiguli, Malik Fahad Jjingo, Jesus Okello Ojara, Patrick Ebong & Dan Wandera.