Nabilatuk district chairman suspends all charges in govt schools

Nabilatuk, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Nabilatuk District Chairman Paul Lokol has ordered the elimination of any form of payment in all government schools in the district.

Lokol expressed disappointment that despite full support by the government to all the primary and secondary schools, the head teachers have connived with the chairpersons of the Parents Teachers Association to charge fees.

In a letter to the Chief Administrative Officer, all the government schools within the district are charging fees which is contributing to low attendance. The charges include examination fees, firewood fees, boarding fees, remedial lessons, and stationary, among others.

Lokol described the charges as immoral because they are against the government policy of Universal Primary and Secondary Education and ordered the schools to eliminate all the charges with immediate effect or else miss out on the capitation grant.

He added that it is frustrating to see schools collecting money from parents for the services that are supposed to be covered by the government, yet President  Museveni also blames the local governments for failing to execute the Universal Primary Education policy.

Lokol instructed the CAO to order school heads to stop collecting money from parents but advised schools that run boarding sections to agree on a modest cost with parents.

John Longolio, the Nabilatuk Deputy Chief Administrative Officer confirmed receipt of the letter but they are yet to call for a stakeholders meeting to discuss more on the decision.

Longolio noted that they want to bring on board the head teachers and school management committee chairpersons to understand the root cause of the problem.

He said they will ascertain what has been happening in the schools and the challenges affecting their operations before rushing to execute the directive because they do not have enough resources to run the schools.

Mwalimu Raymond Korobe, the District Education Officer said that his office has not yet received the letter but expressed fear that the schools are going to face tough times if they are to scrap off the small contribution from the parents.

Korobe said that they will be forced to rely entirely on the grants which may not be enough to run all the school activities. He added that the schools used to charge between 5000 and 10,000 Shillings which was agreed upon with the parents.

Korobe said that they have been emphasizing boarding sections as one way of attracting more learners to school at a small cost, because the schools may not be able to accommodate the learners at no cost.

He explained that the World Food Programme has offered only one meal a day and the schools also provide supper out of the small contributions for the boarding section.

Korobe said that the Universal Primary Education grant is not enough to cover all the operational costs at school but adds that are waiting for a formal communication from the CAO office regarding the letter.

The government recently approved 309.162 billion Shillings for the Ministry of Education and Sports to Implement Universal Primary Education. The government provides 20,000 Shillings capitation grant per pupil per annum under UPE.

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URN