Moriku Kaducu, the Minister of State for Primary Education, has acknowledged that the existing legal framework lacks adequate provisions to empower the government to enforce sanctions on schools charging excessively high fees, notwithstanding the issuance of several circulars and guidelines regarding fee structures
Her remarks were prompted by a query from Deputy Speaker Tayebwa concerning the Ministry of Education’s apparent failure to enforce guidelines pertaining to the management of school fees in Uganda.
“The question was very simple, you put in place all these measures you said these are the guidelines and all schools must adhere to these guidelines, so our question was we know there are schools that have continued not to adhere to these guidelines what are you doing to them? What punitive measures have you put in place? Do you have any sanctions in place for schools which have failed to adhere to those guidelines?” asked Tayebwa
Minister Kaducu disclosed that the government had issued guidelines through circulars aimed at curbing exorbitant fees. These guidelines included provisions prohibiting schools from increasing fees without authorization from the relevant government authorities.
She further stipulated that schools are prohibited from imposing additional cash or non-cash requirements beyond the approved fee structure, emphasizing that all non-cash items must be encompassed within the school budget.
Moreover, Minister Kaducu emphasized the prohibition of public schools from hiring teachers not accounted for on the government payroll, citing this practice as a significant driver of fee escalation in public institutions.
Additionally, Minister Kaducu warned all government-aided schools against seeking commercial loans, stressing that any such application must be authorized by the Minister of Finance through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, as outlined in the Public Finance Management Act of 2015.
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