Classroom Capitalism: Uganda’s free market education schooled by its taxes

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OPINION

By Moses Wawah Onapa

In Uganda, where every national problem is solved with either a workshop or a tax, the education sector has now become the latest victim of the government’s tried-and-failed formula: neglect, panic, taxation, and finger-pointing.

After years of cheerleading for free market education, the government has suddenly decided that private schools are the villains — charging high fees, making profits, and failing to align with the new gospel of “uniform school fees for all.” And in a move so Ugandan it deserves its own documentary; the government’s solution is to tax private schools even more — then act surprised when fees go even higher.

Let’s not pretend Uganda’s public schools are bastions of affordability either. Go ahead — try enrolling your child in any of these “government-aided” national icons: King’s College Budo, Namilyango College, Nabisunsa Girls’ School, Gayaza High School

These are technically public schools. Funded by the government? Allegedly. Affordable? Only if you’re on a cabinet salary or have a sponsor in the diaspora.

From high “boarding requirements” to mandatory "development" and "PTA" fees, getting your child into one of these elite institutions can feel like applying for a visa to the moon. Uniforms, mattresses, specific shoe brands, indexed exercise books — it’s a secondary education package so elaborate it should be wrapped in a ribbon and presented at the State of the Nation address.

So, the real question is: Are these still government schools — or just privately operated empires with subsidised water bills? Because if even public schools are out of reach for the average Ugandan, who exactly are we building this “equitable education system” for?

Compare this with the rest of the world:

Finland and Norway: No fees. No “development contributions.” No bribing your way into nursery. Just strong public investment, well-trained teachers, and an education system that believes in actual equality — not the PowerPoint kind.

Germany: Public universities are free. Basic education is a right, not a business.

Rwanda: Digitised classrooms, teacher salaries on time, and 3,000 new schools in a decade.

Ghana: Free senior high school, paid for by petroleum revenue. That’s what you call transforming oil into opportunity.

Meanwhile, Uganda is still deciding whether to inspect schools for quality or for taxes. Spoiler: it’s always the one that adds revenue.

Here’s how our policy cycle works: Deregulate private schools — let them charge what they want, watch them charge what they want, Panic, introduce taxes to “discipline” them, watch them raise fees even more, pretend you're surprised, and lastly, form a committee.

The result? Parents are forced to take loans to afford nursery. Students are dropping out like expired chalk. And public schools are losing credibility faster than a Wi-Fi connection in a rainy village.

Uniform fees? In a country where even “public” schools charge like private ones?
Taxes? In an ecosystem where infrastructure varies from tiled science labs to termite-infested huts?

Equal access? When village schools still hold lessons under mango trees and share textbooks last updated when Nokia was king?

Until Uganda learns that equality begins with investment, not invoices, our education system will remain a well-dressed tragedy.

We don’t need uniform fees. We need uniform opportunity — and that doesn’t come from taxing the few working institutions until they collapse. It comes from building a system where every child, rich or poor, rural or urban, government or private, gets a real shot at learning.

Uganda's education system today is a tale of mismanaged dreams and misplaced priorities. We can either continue this drama — or look to countries that chose subsidies over suspicion, policy over panic, and students over shillings.

Until then, the only uniformity we’ll see is in the actual school uniforms — and even those now cost more than a term’s worth of learning.

The writer is a senior educationist and a social commentator

Moses4christ2012@gmail.com