Secondary Schools double A'level fees
THE cost of sending a child to school has almost doubled in the last 10 years, according to a survey.
By Conan Businge
THE cost of sending a child to school has almost doubled in the last 10 years, according to a survey.
A study by Saturday Vision shows that average annual fees for boarding school, students in Advanced Level, stands at about sh320,000, up from sh150,000 a decade ago.
Most of the top schools charge between sh500,000 and sh700,000 and only about 20 schools have their fees lower than sh100,000. Most of the schools with low fees are Government-aided schools in rural districts.
The survey randomly sampled schools countrywide, irrespective of their performance. It only looked at tuition fee and excluding other costs.
According to government figures, in the mid-1980s, the education sector was dominated by public schools. Primary and secondary students then paid school fees ranging from sh9,000 ($5) to sh18,000 ($10) per year; and most schools asked parents to contribute labour, food to the school.
Today, there is free education in primary and O’level. Yet it is in Government-aided traditional schools have to pay high fees.
The analysis also shows that most of the top performing schools at A’ level are still the ones which charge high fees.
The schools with the highest tutition fees are still among the best schools at Ordinary and Advanced levels of education. For instance, Namugongo, Kitende Turkish Light Academy, Seeta High School, King’s College Budo and Merryland High had a high number first grades in last year’s final exams.
Basing on the list, schools like Namugongo, Turkish Light Academy, Budo, Ntare School, Kibuli and Namilyango sent a high number of students to public universities. Some top schools are not on the list because their fees were not available by press time.
The increase in fees, according to expert/analysts, is partly because of the rise in the cost of scholastic materials and other related costs in running schools. The increased costs include wages and pension contributions, as well as higher utility bills.
Private schools are at liberty to increase fees, unlike Government-aided ones, which must seek permission before doing so.
The A’level schools, teacher training institutions and other post-secondary institutions, did not charge fees during the 1980s, but their students were required to bring items such as food and beddings.
The education system suffered the effects of economic decline and political instability during the 1970s and 1980s. The system continued to function, however, with an administrative structure based on regional offices, a national school inspectorate and nationwide school examinations.
School maintenance suffered, teachers fled the country and many facilities were damaged by war and vandals.
In 1994, a Government committee found that school fees were escalating due to the increasing cost of education, and that most parents were too poor to afford them. The committee recommended a new fees structure that would impose a ceiling on school dues, with the Government contributing between a third and a half of the costs.
Any school wanting to charge more than the maximum would first have to get the backing of the parents and the permission of the ministry. But that did not come to pass; since a liberalised education system could not accommodate the policy.
THE cost of sending a child to school has almost doubled in the last 10 years, according to a survey.
A study by Saturday Vision shows that average annual fees for boarding school, students in Advanced Level, stands at about sh320,000, up from sh150,000 a decade ago.
Most of the top schools charge between sh500,000 and sh700,000 and only about 20 schools have their fees lower than sh100,000. Most of the schools with low fees are Government-aided schools in rural districts.
The survey randomly sampled schools countrywide, irrespective of their performance. It only looked at tuition fee and excluding other costs.
According to government figures, in the mid-1980s, the education sector was dominated by public schools. Primary and secondary students then paid school fees ranging from sh9,000 ($5) to sh18,000 ($10) per year; and most schools asked parents to contribute labour, food to the school.
Today, there is free education in primary and O’level. Yet it is in Government-aided traditional schools have to pay high fees.
The analysis also shows that most of the top performing schools at A’ level are still the ones which charge high fees.
The schools with the highest tutition fees are still among the best schools at Ordinary and Advanced levels of education. For instance, Namugongo, Kitende Turkish Light Academy, Seeta High School, King’s College Budo and Merryland High had a high number first grades in last year’s final exams.
Basing on the list, schools like Namugongo, Turkish Light Academy, Budo, Ntare School, Kibuli and Namilyango sent a high number of students to public universities. Some top schools are not on the list because their fees were not available by press time.
The increase in fees, according to expert/analysts, is partly because of the rise in the cost of scholastic materials and other related costs in running schools. The increased costs include wages and pension contributions, as well as higher utility bills.
Private schools are at liberty to increase fees, unlike Government-aided ones, which must seek permission before doing so.
The A’level schools, teacher training institutions and other post-secondary institutions, did not charge fees during the 1980s, but their students were required to bring items such as food and beddings.
The education system suffered the effects of economic decline and political instability during the 1970s and 1980s. The system continued to function, however, with an administrative structure based on regional offices, a national school inspectorate and nationwide school examinations.
School maintenance suffered, teachers fled the country and many facilities were damaged by war and vandals.
In 1994, a Government committee found that school fees were escalating due to the increasing cost of education, and that most parents were too poor to afford them. The committee recommended a new fees structure that would impose a ceiling on school dues, with the Government contributing between a third and a half of the costs.
Any school wanting to charge more than the maximum would first have to get the backing of the parents and the permission of the ministry. But that did not come to pass; since a liberalised education system could not accommodate the policy.