Is your child’s school worthy of its fees?
Feb 20, 2009
HUNDREDS of school gates swung open for S.1s and S.5s this week. Parents are flooding schools to have their sons and daughters, report. But is that school worth the cheques you signed for school fees? You might be right, or you may have paid more for less
BY CONAN BUSINGE
HUNDREDS of school gates swung open for S.1s and S.5s this week. Parents are flooding schools to have their sons and daughters, report. But is that school worth the cheques you signed for school fees? You might be right, or you may have paid more for less!
A Saturday Vision survey reveals that whereas generally schools with higher fees perform better, there are many poorly performing schools with high fees. A few others have moderate fees but perform well.
The random sampling analysis is based on last year’s Uganda certificate of Education results and the latest school fees for continuing students. Out of 54 schools sampled at a random, St. Edwards’ Bukuumi (Kibaale) emerged as the school with the highest value for money rating.
The rating is based on the percentage of S4 candidates who passed in Division 1, compared with the fees paid. Other schools with a high value for money rating were Immaculate Heart Rukungiri, Mbarara High, Namilyango College, Nabisunsa Girls and Mary Hill Mbarara.
St. Edwards’ Bukuumi charges sh288,500 per term and had 80% of its candidates passing in Division 1.
This is the same pass rate as Seeta High, which charges sh600,000. It is also better than others like Kawempe Muslim schools, katikamu SS, Namirembe Hillside, Makerere College, Mengo SS, Turkish Light Academy, Nsambya Hillside, Gombe SS, Kibuli SS, St. Lawrence College, Bugema Adventist Academy and Rubaga Girls, which charge much higher fees.
Some of the poor performing schools charge higher fees than best performing schools. For instance, Progressive SS Mukono, which charges sh470,000, had 4.2% of its candidates passing in Division 1, yet Namilyango, which charges less and is located in the same district, had 96% in Division 1.
About a third of the schools sampled had lower fees with better performance than Progressive Mukono. Ntare, which charges about the same fees as Progressive Mukono, got 89.2% Division 1.
Kibibi Muslim SS, which charges sh400,000, had 3.8% in Division 1, while Kyambogo College, which charges less, had 10 times better performance.
Nabisunsa Girls, with similar charges, passed nearly all candidates in Division 1.
St. Augustine’s College Wakiso charges sh380,000 for continuing boarding students and got only 21% in Division 1, yet Mary Hill, which charges the same and is much further away from Kampala, performed four times better.
Poor performing schools charging similar amounts as highly performing schools are Progressive SS Mukono, Progressive SS Kitintale, Kibibi Muslim SS, Bulo Parents, Nyamitanga SS Mbarara and Rubaga girls, Budo SS and St. Lawrence Sonde.
Surprisingly, there are also schools that charge low fees yet they are among the best in the country. Immaculate Heart Rukungiri charges only sh350,000, but got 92.4% of its candidates passing in Division One. All other schools that got more than 90% in Division 1 charge between sh425,000 and sh700,000.
Save for these exceptions, generally schools with higher fees perform better. Most of the top performing schools charge between sh400,000 and sh700,000 per term. Kibuli SS and Iganga SS are schools with fairly good performance but high fees lowered their value-for-money rating. Kibuli SS, charging sh750,000 in S5, had 74.1% of its candidates in Division One.
Kawempe Muslim School, with similar results, charges sh400,000, nearly half of Kibuli’s fees.
The best performing school was St. Mary’s College Kisubi, with all candidates passing in Division 1. The school, however, did not have the highest value-for-money rating because of the high fees of sh690,000 per term. Similarly, Mt. St. Mary’s Namagunga got 99.3% in Division one but charges sh660,000. Uganda Martyrs’ Namugongo, at 98.3%, charges sh620,000.
However, for many parents, it is a nightmare getting children into good-performing schools that charge reasonable fees. For hours, they line up outside headteachers’ offices. Headteachers on the other hand, do everything possible to evade parents asking for back-door admission after the official selections.
Some switch their phones off or ‘forget’ them at home. Others fake trips abroad or go to office only after 5:00pm.
Nevertheless, some parents do not follow the issue of grades while looking for vacancies but personal and historical attachment to certain schools. Religious affiliation, discipline, distance from home, spaciousness of the school and the quality of facilities; are also issues parents look at in selecting schools.
Some schools may not be among those with the highest percentage in Division 1, but gain parents’ favour due to the overall exposure, skills and other benefits the students get.
Aga Khan Schools, Kabojja SS and Vienna College Namugongo, for instance, are known for having curricula them prepare students for overseas tertiary education.
The chain of Taibah schools in and around Kampala are known for enabling their students to get work experience in different organisations during holidays.
Otherwise, most parents prefer schools where their children have the highest chance of passing national exams highly, without necessarily spending lots of money on fees.
Education analysts say private schools’ fees tend to be high because they are not subsidised by the Government.
“Paying teachers is one of the major problems in private schools. In government schools they are catered for by the State,†Tom Mugambe, a private school proprietor in Mityana, explains.
Most poor-performing schools charging high fees are privately- owned, according to the survey. From this survey and earlier ones, Government schools have emerged as better performing despite having lower fees than comparable private schools.
Whereas the Government policy of licensing private schools is meant to provide alternative sources of quality education, often the entrepreneurs have been accused of caring more about profit than quality education.
For instance, to limit costs, some schools pay little attention to the need for quality teachers and procuring teaching aids.
However, education experts maintain that it is important to have private schools providing education alongside government schools.
Fagil Mandy says one way to ensure that private schools are worth their while, “is to make it mandatory on them to meet the set standards.â€
There are also good-performing private schools, much as their fees are high. Such schools, basing on the survey, include Uganda Martyrs’ Namugongo, Turkish Light Academy, and St. Mary’s Kitende. Most of the schools charging low fees like Wiggins SS, Gulu SS and Kasese SS are in remote areas.
The demand for vacancies in such schools is low and that explains their low school fees, the authorities in these schools explain.
HUNDREDS of school gates swung open for S.1s and S.5s this week. Parents are flooding schools to have their sons and daughters, report. But is that school worth the cheques you signed for school fees? You might be right, or you may have paid more for less!
A Saturday Vision survey reveals that whereas generally schools with higher fees perform better, there are many poorly performing schools with high fees. A few others have moderate fees but perform well.
The random sampling analysis is based on last year’s Uganda certificate of Education results and the latest school fees for continuing students. Out of 54 schools sampled at a random, St. Edwards’ Bukuumi (Kibaale) emerged as the school with the highest value for money rating.
The rating is based on the percentage of S4 candidates who passed in Division 1, compared with the fees paid. Other schools with a high value for money rating were Immaculate Heart Rukungiri, Mbarara High, Namilyango College, Nabisunsa Girls and Mary Hill Mbarara.
St. Edwards’ Bukuumi charges sh288,500 per term and had 80% of its candidates passing in Division 1.
This is the same pass rate as Seeta High, which charges sh600,000. It is also better than others like Kawempe Muslim schools, katikamu SS, Namirembe Hillside, Makerere College, Mengo SS, Turkish Light Academy, Nsambya Hillside, Gombe SS, Kibuli SS, St. Lawrence College, Bugema Adventist Academy and Rubaga Girls, which charge much higher fees.
Some of the poor performing schools charge higher fees than best performing schools. For instance, Progressive SS Mukono, which charges sh470,000, had 4.2% of its candidates passing in Division 1, yet Namilyango, which charges less and is located in the same district, had 96% in Division 1.
About a third of the schools sampled had lower fees with better performance than Progressive Mukono. Ntare, which charges about the same fees as Progressive Mukono, got 89.2% Division 1.
Kibibi Muslim SS, which charges sh400,000, had 3.8% in Division 1, while Kyambogo College, which charges less, had 10 times better performance.
Nabisunsa Girls, with similar charges, passed nearly all candidates in Division 1.
St. Augustine’s College Wakiso charges sh380,000 for continuing boarding students and got only 21% in Division 1, yet Mary Hill, which charges the same and is much further away from Kampala, performed four times better.
Poor performing schools charging similar amounts as highly performing schools are Progressive SS Mukono, Progressive SS Kitintale, Kibibi Muslim SS, Bulo Parents, Nyamitanga SS Mbarara and Rubaga girls, Budo SS and St. Lawrence Sonde.
Surprisingly, there are also schools that charge low fees yet they are among the best in the country. Immaculate Heart Rukungiri charges only sh350,000, but got 92.4% of its candidates passing in Division One. All other schools that got more than 90% in Division 1 charge between sh425,000 and sh700,000.
Save for these exceptions, generally schools with higher fees perform better. Most of the top performing schools charge between sh400,000 and sh700,000 per term. Kibuli SS and Iganga SS are schools with fairly good performance but high fees lowered their value-for-money rating. Kibuli SS, charging sh750,000 in S5, had 74.1% of its candidates in Division One.
Kawempe Muslim School, with similar results, charges sh400,000, nearly half of Kibuli’s fees.
The best performing school was St. Mary’s College Kisubi, with all candidates passing in Division 1. The school, however, did not have the highest value-for-money rating because of the high fees of sh690,000 per term. Similarly, Mt. St. Mary’s Namagunga got 99.3% in Division one but charges sh660,000. Uganda Martyrs’ Namugongo, at 98.3%, charges sh620,000.
However, for many parents, it is a nightmare getting children into good-performing schools that charge reasonable fees. For hours, they line up outside headteachers’ offices. Headteachers on the other hand, do everything possible to evade parents asking for back-door admission after the official selections.
Some switch their phones off or ‘forget’ them at home. Others fake trips abroad or go to office only after 5:00pm.
Nevertheless, some parents do not follow the issue of grades while looking for vacancies but personal and historical attachment to certain schools. Religious affiliation, discipline, distance from home, spaciousness of the school and the quality of facilities; are also issues parents look at in selecting schools.
Some schools may not be among those with the highest percentage in Division 1, but gain parents’ favour due to the overall exposure, skills and other benefits the students get.
Aga Khan Schools, Kabojja SS and Vienna College Namugongo, for instance, are known for having curricula them prepare students for overseas tertiary education.
The chain of Taibah schools in and around Kampala are known for enabling their students to get work experience in different organisations during holidays.
Otherwise, most parents prefer schools where their children have the highest chance of passing national exams highly, without necessarily spending lots of money on fees.
Education analysts say private schools’ fees tend to be high because they are not subsidised by the Government.
“Paying teachers is one of the major problems in private schools. In government schools they are catered for by the State,†Tom Mugambe, a private school proprietor in Mityana, explains.
Most poor-performing schools charging high fees are privately- owned, according to the survey. From this survey and earlier ones, Government schools have emerged as better performing despite having lower fees than comparable private schools.
Whereas the Government policy of licensing private schools is meant to provide alternative sources of quality education, often the entrepreneurs have been accused of caring more about profit than quality education.
For instance, to limit costs, some schools pay little attention to the need for quality teachers and procuring teaching aids.
However, education experts maintain that it is important to have private schools providing education alongside government schools.
Fagil Mandy says one way to ensure that private schools are worth their while, “is to make it mandatory on them to meet the set standards.â€
There are also good-performing private schools, much as their fees are high. Such schools, basing on the survey, include Uganda Martyrs’ Namugongo, Turkish Light Academy, and St. Mary’s Kitende. Most of the schools charging low fees like Wiggins SS, Gulu SS and Kasese SS are in remote areas.
The demand for vacancies in such schools is low and that explains their low school fees, the authorities in these schools explain.