The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party spokesperson, Sharon Oyat Arach, has called upon all school owners to reconsider parents and allow students to start school as parents pay school fees in installments.

Arach made these remarks while talking to members of the press on September 11, 2024, at the party headquarters in Kampala, as she requested school owners to appreciate the economic hardships and permit students to report to school while parents pay the tuition fees in installments.

“UPC has noted that a good number of parents are still struggling to clear school fees balances accruing from 1st term. Considering this in mind, the party would like to draw the attention of school authorities to appreciate the economic situation at hand and kindly allow parents to clear their children’s dues in instalments,” Arach said.

In relation to the opening of school term three, Arach also called upon the government to take the holiday time to inspect and see if schools are ready in terms of safety, as fire outbreaks in the past have gutted schools, causing loss of lives and property.

“We have, in the recent past, suffered fire outbreaks at schools with registered loss of lives and property. The schools and other learning institutions need to be well secured with fire detectors and thunder deflectors,” Arach added.

Arach further tasked the police and fire brigade to be on alert to respond in times of emergency, especially in cases of school fires, adding that there should be routine checks of these institutions in terms of the safety of schools.

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According to Patrick Kaboyo, an education consultant and a member of the Federation of Non-State Education Institutions (FENEI), the call to have schools allow students to start before clearing fees is a good one and very welcome, but parents should also acknowledge the fact that these schools also have operational costs that have gone up and are incurred on the daily running of the school.

“As a parent and an education consultant, I understand the need for schools to be patient with parents, but all these private schools have daily operational costs that are a must for students to be able to study in schools; look at the increased cost of food, electricity, bank loans, maintenance costs, and many others,” he said.

However, Kaboyo suggested that the school administration and the parents should at least agree that all school fees must be cleared half the term and at least a student should report with 50% of the fees to enable the school owners to run with basic quality services.

As the third school term approaches, many parents continue to ask the government to come to their rescue, as every school term almost comes with a significant increase in the school dues, which many school owners attribute to the increased costs of operation.