ANALYSIS: School fees crunch

No government funding

But the Headmaster of St Mary’s College Kisubi, Brother Deodati Aganyira, says there is a misconception that government schools should charge less than private school because they get money from the government.

“The only help we get from government is paying of teachers’ salaries. Kisubi does not receive anything else. Besides there is nothing we increase without the mandate of the Board of Governors and PTA,” he said.

He said Kisubi only raises fees if they have a project; in which case they calculate how much each child should pay.

“Everything has increased. A bag of rice of 50kg which we used to buy at Shs140, 000 we now buy between Shs180, 000 to Shs200, 000. This includes other food prices,” he said.

“Yes, people always complain about development fees. It is set by the Board,” he said, “but you see it does not come from nowhere. Kisubi did not just become the best school by luck, it has standards to maintain. When you look at all the high quality laboratories and other facilities, there has to be an expenditure on them.”

Brother Aganyira says the maintenance fees ranges from Shs150, 000-300,000. He also said before picking admission letters, prospective students have to pay Shs500, 000 as a commitment fee.  He says this money is sometimes broken down into several other items such as for computer, internet costs, and other delegated services.

The new S1 and S5 students at Kisubi paid Shs1.9 million each.

“People are complaining about the commitment fee. But you see we do that because there are people who will get a position here and then after go somewhere else to look for vacancies. There are many people who are crying to go to Kisubi and Gayaza. Let every serious parent pay commitment fees.”

He says people should know that although schools like Kisubi and Gayaza are government schools, they are outside the Universal Secondary Education program.

Economic woes

Agaba Rugaba, an economist says that in as much as people are criticising schools, they need to understand that schools are merely caught up in the current inflationary cycle.

“There is a genesis for all this,” he told The Independent, “If the schools do not ask for this money from parents, they will not get it elsewhere. If there is say refurbishing a library, buying a school bus, or putting up a new building or making a dormitory extension, the schools will always put it to the parents through fees.”

Rugaba says even private schools have to suffer with bank loans and interest rates that will have to be reflected in the school fees.

He said government schools are often receiving less of projected funding – about 70% only due to shortfalls in government revenue and it is released late.

“The administration has to get it from somewhere,” he said, “This issue has touched at the core of the middle class, the ability to afford education.”

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editor@independent.co.ug