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KAMPALA - The education ministry has explained why 14 schools were excluded from government grants, saying that some schools on the list were already government-aided.

Higher education state minister John Muyingo was responding to concerns raised by the education and sports committee which is chaired by John Ntamuhira Twesigye (Bunyaruguru County, NRM).

On January 12, 2024, the committee interfaced with the minister where they presented a Budget Framework Paper for financial year 2024/2025. Among other things, the issue of government grants to schools remained unconcluded and the minister was summoned to explain it in detail.

During the discussion, the air crackled with tension, fuelled by accusations hurled at his ministry for excluding 14 schools from receiving government grants. (All Photos by Miriam Namutebi)

During the discussion, the air crackled with tension, fuelled by accusations hurled at his ministry for excluding 14 schools from receiving government grants.

MPs from affected regions pointed out issues of regional bias, inadequate infrastructure support, and unclear communication from the Ministry that flew back and forth.

For the financial year 2023/2024, the ministry earmarked over 16.2 billion for coding of the 38 primary schools and 46 secondary schools respectively.

These schools, according to the ministry, include some of the 37 secondary and 26 primary community schools that were included in the annual budget estimates for financial year 2022/2023.

According to Muyingo, some of the schools in question could not receive funds as they are already government-aided.

According to Muyingo, some of the schools in question could not receive funds as they are already government-aided. Also, in some of the sub-countries where the listed schools were picked, he explained that there were other community schools that had applied for the government grant aid.

“Different schools in the same sub-counties had already been earmarked for grant aiding, while some others on the list do not exist as viable schools with facilities for grant aiding,” Muyingo said.

He added: “It was, therefore, agreed that Ministry of education and Sports conducts a comprehensive validation exercise in order to establish the viability of these schools for grant aiding.”

Excluded schools

From the verification exercise, 14 schools were excluded for various reasons as indicated below.

Three schools (Gweri SS in Soroti, Kolir Comprehensive SS in Bukedea, and Kamuli SS in Rakai) are already government grant-aided.

Other schools (St Benedict Catholic SS and Kasambya Quran SS) are both in Kasambya sub-country in Mubende district and only one could be picked for grant aiding.

Among the excluded schools are, Kasala SS in Kyankwazi, Arwotcek SS in Amolatar, St. Micheal SS Kahunge, Kyeshero Vocational Secondary School in Kanungu.

Six others according to the ministry do not have basic infrastructure; that is at least four permanent classrooms, a permanent laboratory room, a library or bookstore, separate latrine stances with shutters for girls and boys, staff, and office.

Among these include, Amolatar SDA SS in Amalatar, Ntonwa SS in Kamwenge, Trust Academy in Kasese, Padei Community in Nebbi, Ojilai SS in Tororo, and St John SS Lunganga in Bududa.

Progress

The ministry revealed that from the verification exercise, a list of 285 community schools that had applied for grant aiding was compiled and from the list, 23 were identified and added to make a total of 46 secondary schools that were presented to the ministry of public service for coding.

According to Muyingo, a response dated January 25, 2024, has been received from the Ministry of Public Service confirming the coding of 27 Primary Schools and 33 Secondary Schools while the remaining 13 Secondary Schools and 9 Primary Schools are still undergoing migration to the Human Capital Management (HCM).

The Ministry will transfer the wages of the beneficiary schools to the beneficiary local governments through the corrigenda of the budget for FY 2024/25.

The schools will also be included in the budget for capitation grants for FY 2024/25 under the second budget call circular.

The ministry will also seek clearance from the Ministry of Public Service to recruit for the secondary schools while the beneficiary Local Governments will seek permission for the Primary Schools.

In addition, all Local Government Accounting Officers have been requested to submit the current gaps of Parishes and Sub Counties without Government Schools while highlighting requests submitted for grant aid. This will inform the Medium-Term Planning on the coverage of Public Schools as per Government Policy.

Muyingo said the Ministry will endeavour to involve the area Member of Parliament in the determination and commissioning of schools to be grant-aided.

Seed school construction criteria questioned

Members of Parliament also questioned the Ministry of Education and Sports over the criteria used to select sub-counties for construction of "seed schools."

MPs argued that the Ministry's criteria are unclear and lack transparency, potentially leading to the exclusion of deserving communities.

The legislators raised concerns surrounding factors like population density, existing education infrastructure, and poverty levels, and called for a transparent and publicly accessible document outlining how the selection process is being made to ensure fairness and accountability.

Geofrey Macho (Busia Municipality, INDP) questioned the geographical Imbalance. He said, “Concerns exist that some regions benefit disproportionately from seed school construction, leaving other areas underserved. We are demanding explanations and a review of the selection process.”

According to Macho, the disproportionate placement of schools heavily impacts on educational equity. “The core issue at hand is ensuring equitable access to education across the country. If certain areas consistently miss out on these schools, it widens the gap in educational opportunities for students,” he noted.

According to Muyingo, significant challenges remain, linked to the resource ceiling that is availed to the ministry.

He noted that the resource envelope issued under the second budget call circular for financial year 2024/2025 has been maintained at the same level as that of the previous financial year.