Prime
Govt should increase capitation grants
What you need to know:
The issue:
Capitation grant.
Our view:
Government should increase capitation grant so that schools can cope with the increased cost of running schools.
Tomorrow, February 5, schools will open officially for the first term of the 2023 academic year. This follows the early closure of schools in November last year because of the Ebola Virus Disease that had spread around the country.
Although Uganda is slowly moving past the Ebola and Covid-19 disruptions that kept schools closed for close to two years, parents are sending millions of learners back to school amid tough economic times.
Many Ugandans are grappling with high fuel and commodity prices that have been blamed on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Although some prices are slowly coming down, Bank of Uganda projections indicate that inflation will decline slowly, returning to the 5 percent target by the end of the year.
As a measure to keep learning institutions running, schools have reacted by increasing school fees, causing an uproar among parents who are already grappling with high costs of living.
Last year, Ms Janet Museveni—the Education minister who doubles as First Lady—revealed that her ministry had finalised drafting of a statutory instrument that’s intended to regulate school fees, a position that has caused a standoff between government and owners of schools. Some lawyers have come out to say government has no powers to regulate schools fees.
But amid debate on the exorbitant tuition and non-tuition fees charged by both private and government-aided schools, little is being said about increment of the capitation grant to help government-aided schools cope with the current economic situation.
Recently, the manager of policy, research and innovation at National Planning Authority (NPA), Hamis Mugendawala, while meeting members of the Education Policy Review Commission in Kampala, said the capitation grant for each child in UPE schools per year should be increased from Shs14,000 to Shs63,546.
He added that the capitation grant per student per year at lower secondary should be increased from Shs170,000 to Shs532,720 and from Shs255,000 to Shs885,440 for those in upper secondary.
We appeal to government to urgently look into this matter to ensure the smooth running of schools, but most importantly, to improve the quality of teaching. Capitation grant, released by government on a quarterly basis, is used to among others, finance the purchase of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials.
While decrying the poor performance of schools in the city in the just released Primary Leaving Examinations, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago partly blamed the poor results on low capitation grant.
It is high time government increased capitation grant so that government-aided schools can cope with the increased cost of running schools.
