Govt told to punish schools charging exorbitant fees

Kampala, (UG):– The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Thomas Tayebwa has directed the Ministry of Education and Sports to institute powerful sanctions against schools that are charging exorbitant school fees after several complaints from the public over the habit on school resumption.

During plenary on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, the Deputy Speaker said parliament has extensively handled the matter of school fees but “the situation seems to be getting worse”.

“There are very many complaints regarding fee circulars from various schools including Government and private schools that have been discussed from this House, I have seen several circulars including from Government schools about that matter, including giving very clear directives, but the situation seems to be getting worse and some of the school fees being charged are totally prohibitive,” said Mr Tayebwa —expressing concern about the significant variations in school fees charged by different institutions leading to hardships for parents and students.

Mr Tayebwa has since directed the Ministry of Education and Sports to present a statement on punitive measures being put on schools that have defied government directives on fees.

Currently, many schools in Uganda both public and private have been levying school fees without such regulations, something that has put a toll on the income of many parents.

Although the government is implementing Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE), some of the public schools continue to charge high fees.