FDC asks gov’t to pay examination fees for all candidates

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party has joined parliament to demand government’s intervention to help clear Uganda National Examinations Board-UNEB registration fees for candidates in private schools. 

At the beginning of this month, Parliament passed a resolution urging the government to meet the cost of registering all candidates for their final examinations on grounds that most parents are still struggling with the effects of the lockdown.  

Statistics from UNEB show that if the government agrees to the proposal it would spend around Shillings 32 billion for the candidates in private schools. Every ordinary level candidate is required to pay Shillings 200,000 while those in advanced level pay Shillings 220,000.

Some private schools have raised the fees to Shillings 300,000. However, the Information and National Guidance Minister, Judith Nabakooba, said government is currently only able to pay registration fees for students under Universal primary and secondary schools. 

John Kikonyogo, the FDC Deputy Spokesperson, notes that besides parents who are suffering from financial instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many private school proprietors are going through a hard time. 

He says the government can divert the money, which has been allocated for procuring masks to pay examination registration fees for those in private schools.    

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