As schools reopen for candidates tomorrow, the row over fees appears to have escalated, with both schools and concerned parents around the country are now at loggerheads, even as the Education ministry remains ambivalent on the matter.
Some schools have written to parents demanding first term fees balance in addition to tuition for a new term but parents who were not represented as school managers negotiated reopening of schools with government authorities are now asking for “protection” because the majority had cleared their dues for first term, which wasn’t completed.
Parents have also accused the Education ministry of insensitivity and asked Parliament to help them before their children drop out of schools.
However, the National Private Educational Institutions Association (NPEIA) yesterday said the money which was paid last term had been spent on utility bills, teachers’ salaries and food.
Hassadu Kirabira, the NPEIA chairperson, warned that there was no regulation from the Ministry of Education barring them from demanding fees arrears.
The State Minister for Higher Education, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, said parents who will not afford the demands in private schools should take their children to public-aided institutions as the government has already prepared to pay registration for national examinations for all candidates in its schools.
