ARUA RCC WARNS SCHOOLS AGAINST ILLEGAL FEES TO PROTECT VULNERABLE CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Arua RCC Rt Maj Betty Akello Otekat. (Photo by Onzoma Albert)
By Onzoma Albert
Arua City
The Arua City Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Rt. Maj Betty Akello Otekat, has issued a strict warning to head teachers of government-aided schools against charging illegal fees under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) guidelines.
This warning aligns with a broader directive from the State House Education Desk, which has previously cautioned school administrators nationwide to refrain from imposing unauthorized charges on learners enrolled in these government-funded programs.
“Let me send firm warning to all government-aided operating UPE and USE schools, don’t demand illegal school fees from parents and my office will not tolerate any extortion that keeps our children out of class from learning” she said.
The ministry emphasizes that such illegal practices undermine President Yoweri Museveni’s educational legacy and deny vulnerable children access to quality education.
The government continues to allocate resources through the Ministry of Education and Sports to address infrastructural needs, recruit and train teachers, and supply teaching materials and facilitation to UPE and USE schools.
Akello warned that any head teacher found imposing unjustified or unauthorized fees will face immediate arrest, and her office will not tolerate any such acts across Arua City.
She insisted that the government grants are meant to support free, quality education and must not be diverted for illegal charges.
“Any head teacher charging illegal fees we shall come to your school arrest you on spot and we shall not wait for Minister Balaam to first arrive, if a parent has the financial capacity they are free to take their children to private schools they can afford but our public schools must remain free and accessible for the ordinary citizens of Arua City,” she added.
This crackdown aims to protect families from unnecessary financial burdens and ensure that all children have equal access to education.
The Government of Uganda introduced UPE in 1997, expanding it to include USE in 2007 to improve access for children from poor and vulnerable households.
The program is backed by capitation grants from the government, which are intended to replace school fees and cover operational expenses.
Currently, the government allocates UGX 20,000 per pupil annually for UPE, UGX 175,000 per student annually for O-Level under USE, and UGX 270,000 for A-Level students under USE.
However, these grants are widely considered insufficient to fully support the operational needs of schools.
Charging additional fees from vulnerable families, which the programs are designed to eliminate, obstructs national education objectives and prevents many poor children from attending school.
Upcoming on 90.9 FM
Upcoming on 94.5 FM
Upcoming on 101.4 FM
Upcoming on 104.8 FM
Comments
This post currently has no comments.