A CASE FOR DEVELOPMENT FEES IN GOVERNMENT AIDED SCHOOLS.

By William Kituuka Kiwanuka 

I am discussing the subject of Development Fees in Government Aided Schools with reference to St. Mary’s College, Kisubi (SMACK) where I was for my secondary school education and have taken kin interest in its developments to - date.

The Ministry of Education wants schools not to charge parents Development fees effective 1st term 2023. It is true, parents are having a big burden given what they have to part with to meet the cost of their children’s education. From the facts I have, parents have for years been putting pressure on Head Teachers to increase school infrastructure given that they love their children to get education in specific schools.

I wish to reflect on some of the challenges Brother Joseph Tinkasimire had when he was appointed Head Teacher of St. Mary’s College, Kisubi.

“The water system was non – functioning. There were frequent interruptions which made life very unpleasant on too many occasions and with great risks to health”.

The Brother said, “Electricity was very irregular and that led to the buying of a 120 kVA Generator in 1989”. As I write, the generator is really old and needs to be replaced.

“A persistent challenge then and perhaps even now was how to help the great number of students who wanted to join SMACK. There was no room and only a small increase in intake was possible. Also, of those who completed O‘ level, only a small number could come back to A‘ level. This was indeed great pain not to be able to help”.

The Development fees in Government Aided Schools is a payment made after a problem has been identified and money is needed to have it sorted. The parents who now enjoy a bigger admission at SMACK ought to know that some parents before them sacrificed to have that infrastructure in place. So, the vicious circle of development fees.

What is most important for parents is to send children to schools where the fees payable are within their reach. True, a parent may love his son to join SMACK, but the truth is: SMACK is for a certain class of parents. The parents who not only cherish academic standards, but want their children to have a balanced diet, security of the children just to mention a few, and those have to be paid for.

It is important for the Ministry of Education to know that schools with on - going projects where parents are making payment have contractors with agreed - on terms. What happens if those contractors are stopped now? If will be double loss to the schools as they will have to pay fines and of course wait on until the Ministry of Education lifts the ban, without having the projectd to completion, yet needed by the schools.

It is also important for the Ministry of Education to take each school differently. For instance, the Perimeter wall at SMACK is not yet completed. The parents want it complete for the security of their sons. I don’t see how the Ministry decides that there will be no payment of development fee in such a case.

It is also true that many Ugandans would be far better off if the Government of Uganda support systems were helping them well more so those with Agricultural land. There is need to see people’s incomes increased so that they can afford the education for their children, and the best approach is to practically empower them.

In 2006, I had opportunity to talk to now the Late Basil Kiwanuka as regards SMACK. He said, “About the academic excellence “The College has been having outstanding performance at National Examinations because it gets the cream of the nation, that is, very brilliant students on admission. Secondly, both the hard work of the teachers and students are major factors for the maintenance of high academic standards. The combination of all these create the College Culture of hard work at academics”.

Now, parents who value the education of their children and have resources are all the time ready to pay so that their children get education at SMACK.

In a nutshell, the concern by the Ministry about Development fees more so in Government Aided Schools is genuine. And because the Ministry pays salary for just part of the staff the schools have, it is best to leave the schools undertake the education of the children, possibly with regulations of amounts that should be paid, but not suspending the Development fees.