Petitioners sue govt over hiked school fees
What you need to know:
- The petitioners also want Ms Museveni to regulate gender aspects and special needs education by issuing a deterrent legal framework against discrimination of pregnant girls and nursing mothers.
A group of petitioners have sought court’s intervention to compel the Minister of Education and Sports, Ms Janet Museveni, to rein in on the hiked school fees following the reopening of learning institutions last week after nearly two years of lockdown.
The petitioners; Mr Michael Aboneka, Mr Andrew Karamagi and a civil society organisation, Initiative For Social and Economic Rights (ISER), filed their law suit against the Attorney General before the High Court in Kampala yesterday.
“An order of …doth issue against the Minister of Education and Sports to immediately exercise her statutory obligation to perform her duties and exercise her mandate and power prescribed under Section 3 and 57 of the Education (pre-primary, primary and post primary) Act, 2008 to make statutory instruments to regulate fees, charges, dues payable at any school, education institutions including international institutions,” the court documents read in part.
In his affidavit to support the law suit, Mr Aboneka contends that education institutions without any authorisation, formula or justification have taken advantage of the school reopening to charge exorbitant dues, including a list of unnecessary requirements.
“The absence of a policy or legal framework to regulate the fees structure, including non-tuition payments such as school requirements, has encouraged schools and education institutions to exploit this inadequacy with each charging different, often disparate and exorbitant tuition and non-tuition fees,” Mr Aboneka states.
“The omission by the Minister of Education to regulate the demand of unnecessary school requirements and other non-cash contributions by schools and other education institutions… has given leeway to the wanton behaviour of schools, both private and public, to continually demand unconscionable school requirements,” he adds.
The petitioners also want court to compel the line minister to ban the mandatory solicitation of school requirements and any other non-cash contributions required/requested by schools.
Several school administrators have defended the increment, arguing that it catered for fixed costs such as maintenance, security, electricity bills, loan repayment and the increased fuel prices.
Government position
Government had earlier directed that no school should hike school fees.
“Please, note that failure to adhere to the directives issued by the Minister of Education and Sports, will leave me with no option but to take disciplinary action on errant schools,” Dr Joyce Kaducu Moriku, the State Minister for Health in-charge of Primary Healthcare, warned last week.
The petitioners also want Ms Museveni to regulate gender aspects and special needs education by issuing a deterrent legal framework against discrimination of pregnant girls and nursing mothers.
They also want schools to be compelled to provide facilities for them as provided for by Article 32 of the Constitution.
Bishop of Mukono Diocese James William Ssebagala last week said pregnant girls would not to be allowed in any of their Church-founded schools.
The petitioners warn that unless court compels the Education minister to regulate school fees and other dues, the right to education to all persons in Uganda will continue to be violated.
The Attorney General had not yet filed his response by press time.
