Schools rely on credit as they await universal secondary education funds

Aug 04, 2009

WITH only two weeks left to the end of second term, head teachers of Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools will have to wait a little longer or look for alternative means to pay creditors.

SPOTLIGHT

By Arthur Baguma


WITH only two weeks left to the end of second term, head teachers of Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools will have to wait a little longer or look for alternative means to pay creditors.

Only a small fraction of USE funds were released a few weeks back. This has affected planning in these schools which are also grappling with shortage of resources. Head teachers The New Vision talked to say the schools have been surviving on the mercy of suppliers, while others have used fees of continuing classes to fill the gaps.

Under USE, the Government contributes sh41,000 per term per student. The money, which is disbursed to the schools, is based on the number of USE students in a school. This money is primarily for the procurement of scholastic materials. It also caters for utility bills like water, electricity, telephone and transport for administrative work as well as tuition of students and co-curricular activities.

Zulaika Kabuye, the head teacher of Nateete Muslim High School, says this year the USE funds for first term were released at the beginning of second term. In second term, the schools received two installments of the funds.

The first installment came two weeks after the opening of second term to clear arrears of first term. The first installment was to clear outstanding balance for S.1 for first term and the balance for S.2 and S.3 for term one.

In first term, USE schools received only half the money for S.2 and S.3, while no money was released for S.1. The second installment, which was released about three weeks ago, was also not the full amount. About 47% of the funds were released, according to a reliable source.

Education experts warn that this might affect the quality of services, unless the Government moves fast to streamline its policy on how fast the money is disbursed to schools.

Fagil Mandy, an education consultant, notes that the delay in disbursement of the funds will have an effect on the quality of education.

He advises the Government to streamline its internal mechanism of disbursing funds so that they get to schools early. “Delay of the funds may cause low morale in the schools and people who are not well-wishers of the programme could take advantage of that to discredit it,” Mandy observes.

USE was allocated sh204.50b in this year’s budget. Out of this sh117.7b will go to wages; the capitation grant will take sh77.2b, while sh9.6b will go to local developments.

If this money does not reach the schools in time, head teachers argue that teaching and delivery of services will be crippled. According to the education ministry school calendar, second term closes on August 14, leaving the schools barely two weeks to clear outstanding money owed to suppliers of the schools.

At Kololo High School, the administration has most of the time, relied on the mercy of the suppliers to push through the term. An official at the school says what is affecting the school is what all other USE schools are going through.

“Our suppliers have been patient with us. And they know that we have to pay them. That is how we have managed to survive,” the official, who preferred anonymity, says.
The school has about 900 students under the USE programme. Haji Bisaso Ntamu, the head teacher of Kampala High School, says the school has managed to cope due to the three continuing classes. “We struggle to go through as we wait for funds, but it is strenuous,” Bisaso says.

He, however, notes that a good relationship with suppliers can also help keep the schools going without any shortage. “Depending on the relationship with your supplier, they can wait for the funds without charging interest or higher prices.” The situation is even worse for upcountry rural schools.

A district education officer, on condition of anonymity, says the quality of USE might be compromised is not sorted out quickly. “This is a big problem, especially for rural up-country schools where parents cannot afford to support the schools. Head teachers are not supposed to collect any money from parents, or pupils. It is illegal.”

Another district education officer noted that most rural schools are struggling because they depend on USE as the only source of funding. “We shall not have quality education and proper functioning of schools. This is something the Government has to pay attention to.” The source adds that most USE schools have no manpower, laboratory equipment, text books and adequate furniture.

Akiiki Nyondo Barongo, the headmaster of Rwebisengo Secondary School in Bundibugyo, says the school has been getting funds, but a small fraction of funds for the second term has not been sent. “This term, there is a small fraction which has not come, but we have been getting the funds,” he adds.
There are concerns that with the delay of payment, some suppliers hike the price of products and the schools end up paying more than they would pay at market price.

Mandy says the assumption that schools can borrow since they are assured of the source of money, is wrong. At the end of the day, the schools pay more money than the actual price. The suppliers are business people; any money has to be accounted for in business sense. Kololo SSS with over 1,300 USE students is one of the schools which has managed to make it without any big problems. An official at the school said: “Our suppliers are tendered, but they are usually patient because they expect the money and we always pay them.”

Head teachers say they should be allowed to charge parents a small fee to cater for utilities, especially for schools in urban areas. This, according to head teachers, should be a voluntary fee agreed between the parents and schools. In the budget allocation funding to UPE was cut to boost USE.

In the past, UPE would take about 60% of the entire education budget. UPE was allocated sh451.72b this year.
The Ministry of Finance denies that they delay to deliver funds. Syda Bumba, the finance minister, blames ministries for not complying with the regulations and the system.

She says if the ministries delay to fulfill the requirements, they will receive the money late. “We cannot offer special status to USE because we have an efficient system in place. The ministry of education should speed up and follow the procedures required in time. As the finance ministry, we are in position to deliver funds on time once the regulations are fully met by the ministries,” Bbumba says.

Head teachers will be relieved if the money comes in this week as promised by the education ministry.

WHAT IS THE EDUCATION MINISTRY’S STAND?
The education ministry says it cannot be held responsible for the delay. According to Aggrey Kibenge, the education ministry spokesperson, the Ministry of Finance releases funds quarterly to all ministries. “We release funds to schools as remitted to us by the Ministry of Finance. We are about to get the release for this quarter. If the institutions have any gaps as a result of the delay in releasing all the funds, by next week we should have released all the money to the institutions,” Kibenge explains.

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