The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kitgum Municipal council officials have been implicated in the diversion of 44.2 million shillings capitation grant to Universal Secondary Education-USE schools.
Early this month, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit stormed Kitgum Municipal council headquarters to investigate possible misuse of the money sent by government for USE.
The team had responded to complaints lodged by whistleblowers accusing the Municipal town clerk and the Municipal Education officials of conniving to divert the funds sent to three schools.
The schools are Kitgum Town College, St. Bakhita Girls Secondary School and Kitgum Alliance College.
Kitgum Municipal Council Town Clerk Emmanuel Banya on Wednesday said that the allegations against him are baseless given the fact that all the three schools got 100 percent allocation from government.
Banya says all the schools combined had budgeted for 241 million shillings based on their student’s enrolment for 2018-2019 financial year and notes that the first and second quarter releases were successfully received.
He, however, says the capitation grant allocation was marred with discrepancies in figures in the third quarter releases.
For instance, St. Bakhita Girls Secondary School that was to receive additional 9 million shillings only got 730,000 shillings and Kitgum Alliance that was to receive 32 million only got 1.9 million shillings.
However, Kitgum, Town College which was to get only 54 million ended up being allocated 99.3 million, almost twice what they were supposed to receive.
According to Banya, the abnormal grant released to Kitgum Town College prompted him to consult with the Education Ministry officials.
He says to his dismay, he got reports that an anonymous official in Kitgum Municipality who wrote to the Education Ministry claiming the two schools had low enrolment while Kitgum enrollment had increased.
He says evidence they presented to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit also showed prove of receipts for all the adjusted payments made to the respective schools.
The Municipal Education officer Harriet Atim when contacted declined to comment on the matter saying it will jeopardize an on-going investigation being conducted by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
She, however, says government has already embarked on scrapping off the capitation grant in selected schools and notes that this financial year, the Education Ministry is only paying for senior four students.
Atim notes that some of the school heads launched complaints minus understanding that this year’s grants released only captured senior four students as opposed to the total school’s enrollment they sent to the Education Ministry.
The Capitation Grants are computed based on school enrollment where each student is paid 47,000 shillings by the government.
Last year, Government begun phasing out USE support in 792 private schools citing it intends to save funds for construction its own schools and improving existing ones.
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