Makerere College increases fees to pay Shs600million bus loan

WAKISO. Makerere College School in Kampala has finally acquired its own bus, after several years of hiring public means to transport students to participate in extra-curricular activities.

Acquiring the bus was however not as easy as walking to a bus company and making payments. Parents had to bear the burden through fees increment.

Speaking at its handover ceremony on Monday, Martin Muyingo the school’s Head Teacher said Makerere College secured a loan worth Shs600million through an instalment credit arrangement with Isuzu, a bus manufacturing company.

“We sought permission from the Ministry of Education to allow us charge an extra fee of Shs80, 000 every term for a year, in order to fund the loan. Parents supported the idea,” he said.

Makerere College School is a co-educational government aided O and A- level school founded in 1945 by Makerere University.

Mr Muyingo says for the last 33 years, the school has not their own means of Transport for the last 33 years, frustrating their efforts to participate in activities away from their vicinity.

“We had a bus many years ago, but it broke down and we often borrowed from Mengo S.S, other times we hired Costas from down town, but the students were not comfortable with the arrangement.”

Having started with only 32 students, the school’s population has grown to 2393.

Government backing

Speaking at the event, State Minister for primary education Rosemary Sseninde revealed that government would start supporting individual schools to secure loans to fund projects meant to promote quality education in Uganda.

According to Ms Sseninde, inadequate funding has been the biggest tailback to projects geared towards ensuring a better learning environment for an improved education system.

 “The  new arrangement will apply to private and public schools for them to  access credit to improve infrastructure such as  classroom blocks,  science laboratory equipment  and  transport,” Sseninde said while officiating at the handover of a new school bus.

“The Ministry is willing to offer a green light to any attempts  by schools to solicit for funds to  run programmes as long as  they  do  not  involve dismissal of students from  school,” she added.