Tayebwa asks govt to punish schools charging exorbitant fees

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has directed the Ministry of Education and Sports to institute punitive sanctions against schools that are charging exorbitant school fees as first term begins. 
The Deputy  Speaker said during Wednesday plenary session parliament had extensively handled the matter on schools fees but “the situation seems to be getting worse”, given several complaints from the public.

"There are very many complaints regarding fees circulars from various schools, including government and private schools that has been discussed from this House. I have seen several circulars including from government schools with regard to that matter, including giving very clear directives, but the situation seems to be getting worse and some of the school fees being charged are totally prohibitive," said Mr Tayebwa.

Mr Tayebwa has since directed the Ministry of Education and Sports to present a statement on punitive measures being put on schools that have defied government directives on fees.

Currently, many schools in Uganda, both public and private are charging what some parents have described as exorbitant fees without such regulations, something that has put a toll on the income of many parents. This has made quality education affordable and accessible to a selected few learners across the country.

Although the government is implementing Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE), some of the public schools continue to charge high fees. There are also several other challenges with UPE and USE which government with government saying the free education programme needs to be reviewed.