Has Parliament lost the battle against exorbitant fees structures in public and private schools?

Uganda has been running a liberalized education sector with the privately owned schools mostly propriated in urban places now challenging themselves for the academic excellence crown while being trailed by public schools especially in the rural Uganda.

The academic excellence in private schools has come with a cost with most parents paying through the nose in order to have their children study with the best schools.

Children from best schools at Senior Six level have been the biggest beneficiaries of the government sponsorship at university based on national merit while those is public schools fight for 11 scholarships per District under the quota system.

Though there are many traditional governments aided secondary schools and primary schools that are highly competitive, only reach parents will manage the functional fees despite the fact that they are operating under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE).

On several occasions legislators have brought the matter of exorbitant school fees to the attention of Parliament but nothing tangible on regulating these ever-increasing fees has come out yet.

Ahead of the third term of the 2023 academic year, the Ministry of Education and Sports has been tasked to issue a circular guiding school on what to follow before considering increasing school fees ahead of the opening day on September 18.

Section 43 (g) of the Education Act, Cap 127 mandates the Minister responsible for Education and Sports to by statutory instrument make regulations prescribing the fees payable at any school in Uganda.

Currently, many schools in Uganda both public and private have been levying school fees without such regulations, something that has put a toll on the pockets of many parents. Though the government is implementing the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE), some of the public schools continue to charge fees.

The Education and Sports Committee of Parliament is yet to present a report from its investigations on the exorbitant fees being charged by schools following a motion last year by Tororo District Woman Member of Parliament, Sarah Opendi.

Opendi, however, recently while raising as a matter of national concern asked Parliament to take quick action against increasing school fees by schools ahead of the third term.

Last week, the State Minister for Higher Education, John Chrysestom Muyingo was sent back with a statement on the school fees increment as Parliament instead demanded for a quick action on regulations and issuance of a circular to all schools. It was found the statement presented by Muyingo had been rejected a week earlier when presented by State Minister for Sports, Peter Ogwang.

“The copy (of the statement) I have has the same signature as that of last week. This is a report we threw out last week and we want regulations. We made a law and you are aware that you will come with regulations to avoid exploitation of other people. Even government schools are charging high fees” said Speaker Anita Among.

Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament castigated the Minister, a renowned

educationist in the country for playing with the future of the country by not making productive plans for the education sector. He said that the Minister needed to be sent back to prepare a well detailed statement touching both school fees and other issues affecting the education sector.

“He [Muyingo] is aware that the government has never fulfilled its policy of a primary school per parish and a secondary for sub-county. He is aware that as we speak there are simply so many primary schools without the minimum number of teachers required.” Added Mpuuga.

Muyingo in response declined to respond to calls for his resignation but informed Parliament that he had noted all the issues adding that; “we request to return with a robust statement”.

He also informed the House that he did not have the regulations in place because the government is looking at ensuring compulsorily free education in primary and secondary schools.

“Right now, I don’t have the regulations but I want to give the background. What we are going for is compulsorily free universal education for primary and secondary. This will be done in phases beginning with next financial year” he said.

The Speaker insisted that the government provides a solution to the ever-increasing school fees, something that has always left parents guessing on what will happen every new academic term.

“Before you go for compulsory universal education, let us first have regulations on school fees. As we are going for the third term, let’s first have a circular to schools on minimum school fees.” The Speaker guided.

Committee report

Parliament on February 2, 2023 rejected a report by the Committee on Education and Sports on the skyrocketing school fees structure in top Government-aided schools, arguing its scope of scrutiny was narrow and fell short of substantive recommendations that could remedy the situation.

The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa made the ruling following a heated debate in which the legislators subjected the report of the Committee on Education and Sports to a strict scrutiny.

In the report presented by Cuthbert Abigaba (Kibale County), the Committee informed the House that it had sampled only six Government aided secondary schools while investigating charging of high fees.

The schools visited include Kibuli Secondary School; Gayaza High School; King’s College Budo; Kawempe Muslim Secondary; Nabisunsa Girls Senior School and St Mary’s College Kisubi but found that only Kibuli had increased its school fees for the first time in 8 years with permission from the Ministry of Education and Sports.

The Committee had recommended that, “Government should as a matter of urgency come up with a statutory instrument to regulate the school fees charged by all schools, and also fasten the process of increasing salaries for all teachers to avoid the glaring salary disparities.”

However, in a minority report, Luwero District woman MP Brenda Nabukenya pointed out the loopholes in the Education Act, 2015 that hamper regulation of school fees in Government aided schools.

On her part, Opendi the motion mover said the Committee had not exhausted the issues that she had raised in the motion presented in February last year and that the delay has subjected parents to

exploitation by schools.

“The Committee in the report has ignored the critical issues. Why are Government granted schools charging school fees higher than the private schools? You have a government aided school receiving grants but continue to charge high school fees. The Government puts in a lot of money, paying 70 percent of the staff, supporting provision of scholastic material and a level of development,” said Opendi.

The legislators also said that the report of the Committee did not have a national outlook because the sample space picked during investigations is only from the central region. It is not yet clear when the Committee will return to the House with a report comprising results of a countrywide probe.