An education expert has tipped government on how to revamp free education, especially the Universal Primary Education (UPE).
Government provides grants to UPE and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools, but the institutions have continued to charge additional “service fees”, which is illegal.
Mr Fagil Mandy, an education consultant and the chairman for UPE Implementation Committee, has called for a Universal Education Policy Review, which he says will take into consideration inflation, utility costs and key school resource-taking areas.
“We launched the UPE programme in 1997; however, it needs a policy review to harmonise charges, meet unavoidable expenses and any other reasonable fees charged to guide schools on how to beat inflation and rid it of smuggled utilities fees,” Mr Mandy said in an interview on Tuesday.
He added that some head teachers levy illegal charges on uniforms for games, tours, and school developments.
In Buyende District, for example, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Maj (Rtd) Betty Akello Otekat, has urged schools to leave the learners in class and sort out [the fees challenge] with the parents later.
Buyende District Education Officer Dison Bwire said the education department issued a circular directing all head teachers not to send any learner home for fees, but find an alternative method of enforcing fees adherence and payment.
“While the government provides UPE grants to schools, parents are supposed to back up uniforms, feeding and other relevant items,” Mr Bwire said, adding that the district has at least 74,000 pupils.
President Museveni has previously warned schools against sending learners home for fees, which has prompted Resident RDCs to arrest errant head teachers.
Uganda People’s Congress national party treasurer and constitutional lawyer Peter Walubiri said: “Redeeming UPE should begin with transforming teachers to professionals and models through proper training and mobilising parents.”
The area programme manager for International Development Institute-Uganda, Ms Christine Okalang, said: “It [illegal fees] is the reason we partnered with Food for the Hungry International-Korea to inject Shs350m into the feeding programme for our 16 sponsored schools with an enrolment of 14,000 pupils every term.
