Ignore President’s stand on UPE fees - Ntungamo MP

Advice. Ntungamo woman MP says parents should buy scholastic materials and provide lunch for their children.

Ntungamo. Without ignoring part of the messages advanced by President Museveni on Universal Primary Education, poor parents will stay dreaming about quality education and the gap between the rich and poor shall widen further, Ntungamo woman legislator has advised.

Addressing residents of Rutunguru in Kibatsi Sub-county last week, Ms Naome Kabasharira said many parents have failed to realise weaknesses in Universal Primary Education (UPE) and instead relied on political messages, especially advanced by the President, as the only hope for their children’s education.

“If we continue following the free education messages wholesomely, only children of MPs and businessmen will go to school, access good education, go for free university education, and have good jobs for they will be the ones who will have passed and you will remain as you are - you will be poor, your children will be poor and theirs too, because they will not have acquired good education background,” she said.

Ms Kabasharira said because the President says parents need not pay any money in UPE schools, many parents have themed it and failed to even contribute for books, lunch and other facilities at school leading to poor morale of teachers and failure of pupils.

“President Museveni will come and tell you to go to school and pay nothing; he is right because he brought the free education programme, but as parents we must contribute to our schools, understand that our teachers are paid little. We need to motivate them with lunch, breakfast, and pay for remedial lessons, and all this is not provided under UPE. We have to ignore some of the messages by the President for the sake of our children’s future,” she said.

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