Affected. Pupils at Adyang Annex School on July 22, 2019. The quality of education in some primary schools in Lango Sub-region has significantly dropped. PHOTO/BILL OKETCH
Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools across the country are struggling to operate due to delayed and insufficient government grants, forcing many to impose extra charges on parents.
The UPE programme was introduced to provide free and compulsory primary education to all children. Under the initiative, the government provides grants to cover basic school operations, including instructional materials, utilities, and minor repairs. However, this has not been without bottlenecks.
“We are forced to ask parents for small contributions, or we won’t be able to run the school," said a head teacher in Kamuli District, who requested anonymity to speak freely about the subject.
Many parents, especially those in rural areas, are now struggling to afford additional fees. This has led to many dropouts.
As he delivered the 2025 State-of-the-Nation-Address (SONA) this month, President Museveni disclosed that the UPE programme has reached 8,824,923 learners across 12,433 government-aided primary schools. This, he added, has seen the government pick up a Shs184.49 billion tab.
The government, through the School Facility Grant, has also constructed 413 new classrooms, for primary schools and renovated 181 classrooms. The government has also procured and distributed 334 sets of mini laboratory equipment to 334 primary government schools to enhance practical science learning and foster early scientific curiosity among young learners.
“A total of 593 teachers were recruited to facilitate operationalisation of the newly grant-aided secondary schools in sub-counties.
The government has successfully completed the construction of an additional 50 seed secondary schools under the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) Programme, bringing the cumulative total to 161 seed schools, out of the 259 planned. The majority of the remaining schools are progressing well and are on schedule for completion by June, 2025,” he said.
Government-aided primary schools in the country now total 12,550. Elsewhere, government-aided secondary schools stand at 1,416. The technical and vocational schools are 189.
Yet, as Mariam Naigaga—a mother of three children in Kamuli District—shows, it’s not all rosy. "I thought UPE and USE meant free education, but now I have to pay every term,” she told Saturday Monitor, her forehead cracking into a frown.
Hardly a bed of roses
It is a familiar complaint and one that Wilfred Egesa, an education policy analyst, says is occasioned by the chronic underfunding of UPE schools. This is hardly what the government thought would happen when it introduced UPE in 1997. USE followed a decade later in February of 2007.
Like UPE, USE has been beset by many bottlenecks, with Judith Akurut, an education expert, noting that “large class sizes affect teacher-student interaction.” Together with a capitation grant, the government sends an additional Shs1.4m per school to cater to utility bills.
Ahamada Washaki, the Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Masaka City, said this should ensure the government-aided schools get a rub of the green. Greed has, per the RCC, reared an ugly head.
“Some teachers have taken loans with long repayment periods, and now they push their personal financial pressure onto the children by demanding fees. That is unacceptable. The funds provided by the government are enough if well managed,” he said.
Empirical evidence backs up Washaki’s claims. In Luweero District, the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) investigated allegations of illegal charges in UPE schools after receiving more than 140 complaints from parents about unfair fees in government-aided schools.
During a meeting with headteachers, the EOC emphasised that such practices are illegal and contribute to increased school dropout rates and social inequalities. Yusuf Muziransa, the senior communication officer at the EOC, said while schools may not be fully funded, the available government grants are sufficient to cover basic school operations.
Cracking the whip
Ms Mariam Natasha, the spokesperson of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, said they have reports of illegal charging of school fees in some UPE schools. Some arrests have since been made.
She said recently, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working with police in Rukungiri District, arrested a head teacher and seven Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members on allegations of levying charges on UPE pupils and sending away defaulters from a school.
In recent years, several head teachers and school administrators across Uganda have been arrested for violating the UPE policy by illegally charging fees. In Kasese District, several head teachers were arrested in 2023 for charging each learner in government-aided schools Shs70,000.
In another incident, a head teacher and seven members of the PTA executive committee were arrested and charged in court for unlawfully levying fees on UPE pupils. They were also accused of expelling children who failed to pay, actions which are in direct violation of the Education Act.
Authorities say such arrests demonstrate the government’s strong commitment to enforcing UPE policy and ensuring primary education in Uganda remains free, compulsory, and accessible to all children, regardless of their financial background.
Pupils of Aketket Primary School in Lalogi Sub-county, Omoro District, attend lessons in June 2024. PHOTO/TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
As of the financial year (FY) 2024/2025, the Ugandan government allocates an annual capitation grant of Shs20,000 per pupil under the UPE programme. This amount is intended to cover essential operational costs such as instructional materials, co-curricular activities, school maintenance, and administration.
A dire situation
Recently, stakeholders in the education sector, including the Uganda National Teachers Union (Unatu) and the National Planning Authority (NPA), have expressed concerns that the current capitation grant is insufficient to meet the operational needs of schools.
The NPA has recommended increasing the grant to approximately Shs59,503 for rural schools and Shs63,546 for urban schools per pupil annually to ensure adequate funding for quality education.
“The government should invest in other areas such as teacher salaries, infrastructure development, and educational materials, which are not included in the capitation grant figures,” Akurut said.
The officials said as the second term progresses, thousands of children remain at home. They are reportedly locked out not by choice or ability, but by the invisible price tag attached to “free” education.
In interviews conducted in several districts, parents expressed frustration and heartbreak at being unable to keep their children in school due to fees they were never supposed to pay.
"I was told to pay Shs55,000 for my two daughters. When I failed, they dropped out and now one is married," Phoebe Nafula, a mother of three in Busia District, revealed.
The situation is reportedly worse in rural areas where families already struggle to meet basic needs. Local leaders argue that these unofficial charges are pushing children—especially girls—out of school and into vulnerable situations such as early marriages, domestic labour, or exposure to sexual exploitation.
In some schools, children are allegedly turned away or publicly humiliated for failing to pay the charges — acts that discourage them from returning and expose them to dangers outside the classroom.
‘Coping mechanisms’
The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) and the Education ministry have repeatedly warned school heads against charging illegal fees, but enforcement remains weak, and the problem continues to spread.
Education officers interviewed acknowledged the issue, but said the lack of funding and delayed disbursement of capitation grants forces schools to resort to "coping mechanisms."
"We understand it's wrong, but head teachers are also under pressure to run the schools with limited resources," said a head teacher in Namutumba District, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Civil society groups are now calling on the government to take stronger action against errant school administrators and ensure UPE is truly free and accessible for every Ugandan child.
Ms Angella Apio, a retired nursery schoolteacher, said there is growing public outcry across Uganda over the illegal fees being charged in government-run UPE schools—a practice that parents, leaders, and education activists say is silently eroding the goal of free basic education and worsening the country’s dropout crisis.
"What we are seeing is a breakdown of the UPE promise," Apio said, adding: "The government says education is free, but in practice, many schools have created barriers that lock out the poor. If we continue turning a blind eye, we will lose an entire generation to poverty, ignorance, and abuse.”
She said although the government provides capitation grants for each child enrolled in UPE schools, many institutions continue to demand payments under various categories such as registration fees, development contributions, exam fees, and even classroom maintenance charges.
