How schools calculated Shs3,000 per day fees
Students of Everest College at the school in Luweero District last Thursday. The school has allowed parents to pay Shs3,000 per day for school fees. PHOTO / DAN WANDERA.
What you need to know:
- This was intended to cater for the struggling parents, whose earnings were greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and could not afford raising school fees.
Last week, it emerged that some schools in Luweero and Kampala districts had come up with a flexible plan of daily school fees payment which was as low as Shs1,000.
This was intended to cater for the struggling parents, whose earnings were greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and could not afford raising school fees.
A breakdown for the school fees structure at Everest Primary School, one of the schools implementing the daily school fees payments, indicates that the actual pay is Shs200,000 per term.
This means that if a parent opts for daily fees payment structure, the payment will be Shs2,000.
The money has been computed to match the expected 100 days that the pupils are meant to be in school for Term One as per the Education ministry calendar.
The daily fees will cater for porridge and lunch.
The same formula applies to Everest College, where the full school fees structure is Shs300,000.
So, if the parent opts for the daily fees payment, he/she parts with Shs3,000 per day.
“We already have parents who have approached the school management and embraced the daily school fees payment structure. This is the pilot scheme and voluntary school fees payment system that management is trying out after studying the difficult economic trends,” Mr Ronald Ndaula, the proprietor of Everest schools, said at the weekend.
Mr Edmond Kaggwa, a resident of Luweero Town Council, said he had resorted to the new flexible fees payment schedule.
“I have a motorcycle business. I can ably deposit the Shs2,000 for my child who is in Primary Three at Everest school. I found this payment system very convenient,” Mr Kaggwa said at the weekend.
“When my income increases, I will start depositing bigger amounts and possibly pay the whole amount of fees at once,” he added.
At Amazing High School in Luweero District, the school director, Mr Mathias Mutabaazi, said he gave parents the option of paying the school dues in installments including on a weekly basis.
Govt reacts
Not aware
The spokesperson of the Education ministry, Dr Denis Mugimba, in an interview with this publication last week, said the ministry was yet to be notified about the new daily school fees payment plan.
He added that if the payment plan does not breach the existing guidelines, is within the prescribed school fees for a particular school, and is agreed upon by parents, it can apply.
