Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara has warned school administrators against turning parental contributions into compulsory charges, saying no learner should be denied education or an examination because their family has failed to pay.
Barugahara issued the warning while addressing students and residents at Masindi Secondary School during his inspection campaign, which has taken him to different parts of the country to examine service delivery and investigate complaints of corruption and irregular charges in public institutions.
The minister’s remarks followed complaints from learners over money they were being asked to pay for various school-related activities.
Among the concerns raised was a charge of Shs40,000 allegedly imposed on Senior Four candidates for examination registration.
Barugahara told the gathering that such a charge should not be imposed because the Government had already paid registration fees for candidates sitting the Primary Leaving Examination, Uganda Certificate of Education and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education examinations.
He also sought to clarify the difference between Government-funded education and additional contributions agreed upon at school level.
According to Barugahara, the money collected through Parents Teachers Associations is not official school fees. Rather, such contributions are intended to help schools meet expenses that may not be fully covered by the Government, including paying teachers who are not on the Government payroll and providing meals for learners who choose to eat at school.
But the minister stressed that even these contributions should not be transformed into compulsory payments.
He said school administrators have no authority to send learners away, block them from attending classes or prevent them from sitting examinations simply because they have not paid the contributions.
The intervention has now put the spotlight on the amounts that schools in Masindi are permitted to seek from parents.
Barugahara said the Masindi District Council had agreed on a maximum contribution of Shs110,000 for each secondary school student, while the corresponding ceiling for a primary school pupil was set at Shs40,000.
He cautioned schools against going beyond those amounts, while reiterating that the contributions are not mandatory school fees and should not be used to deny learners access to education or examinations.
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