Education Minister explains why gov’t schools still charge extra fees from parents

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Friday, August 16, 2024, met and held discussions with members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) caucus at State House, Entebbe.

During the meeting, the President urged the members to realign their priorities, emphasising the importance of adhering to the NRM’s mass-line principles.

President Museveni stressed the importance of the mass-line, a principle that has guided the NRM since its inception.

He highlighted how the NRM has historically prioritised the needs and rights of the masses over those of the elite, ensuring that the voices of all Ugandans are heard and addressed.

“When the NRM started, other political parties existed, but they failed to make the masses their focal point. They believed in the elitist view that the educated could continue their lives while the uneducated were left behind. We said no to this,” he said.

President Museveni recounted the party’s long-standing commitment to inclusive policies such as immunisation for all, education for all, prosperity for all, and security for all.

“The mass-line versus the line of the elite class should be our focus. Those who look to the elite and forget the masses are wrong. For example, I was immunised against smallpox in Senior Three at Ntare School; I had never been immunised against that disease in my life. When we came into government, we said immunisation for all (Boonabagemebwe). From there, we said prosperity for all (Boonabagagawale), then we called for education for all (Boonabasome),” he said.

On education, the President expressed serious concerns over the actions of headteachers in government-aided schools who are allegedly undermining the country’s free education scheme by imposing unauthorised fees on learners.

President Museveni emphasised the government’s commitment to providing free education for all as a means to uplift the nation through Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE).

“Why has the political class failed to see the importance of Boonabasome? These children are being charged by the head authorities in public schools. There are 11 million children in primary school, but only 1.7 million children in secondary school. Where have the nine million children gone? They have dropped out of school,” he said.

Good enough the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Ma’am Janet Kataaha Museveni was present and offered to explain.

Speaking on the issue, Ma’am Janet acknowledged the shortage of teachers in many schools, which has caused institutions to charge extra fees to cover the salaries of additional, privately hired teachers.

“We all know that we don’t have sufficient numbers of teachers in many schools and because of that, schools bring in these teachers to balance the numbers. As a result, they charge all learners extra fees to pay those teachers,” she explained.

The First Lady also highlighted the issue of lunch charges, another cost burdening parents, which has led to a significant number of children dropping out of school.

“Many children don’t have lunch at schools, so teachers impose lunch charges. Unfortunately, these additional costs are causing many children to drop out,” she said.

In response to these challenges, Ma’am Janet stated that the Ugandan government, at the cabinet level, has agreed to take over the payment of these extra costs as it plans its budget.

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