By Our Reporter
RDC Samuel Mpimbaza Hasaka stops illegal fees at Koboko UPE school
Koboko-The Koboko Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Samuel Mpimbaza Hashaka, has stopped with immediate effect the charging of compulsory fees at Abele Primary School in Koboko Municipality.
Abele Primary School is a government-aided Universal Primary Education (UPE) school situated in Abele Cell, Abele Ward, South Division, Koboko Municipality. It was started by the community in 1999.
The school has been charging compulsory fees, which parents say have partly contributed to the high dropout of children.
During an extraordinary meeting, parents complained about what they described as high compulsory fees.
The chairperson of the School Management Committee (SMC) told parents to continue paying between Shs72,000 and Shs180,000.
But the parents objected. Some wanted the fees scrapped, while others pleaded with the SMC to reduce them.
The SMC refused to scrap the fees and instead asked parents to vote for their retention, while the parents insisted on either scrapping or reducing the fees.
Mr Hashaka, who was invited as chief guest, first consulted the District Education Officer (DEO) Koboko, who confirmed that it was illegal for the school to continue charging the compulsory fees.
The RDC accordingly ordered the school to stop charging the illegal fees. The parents clapped and celebrated the decision.
Mr Hashaka said it was even wrong for the meeting to take any decision because only about 100 parents had attended, yet the school has more than 800 parents.
He also disclosed that government pays the 24 teachers at the school, with the lowest-earning teacher receiving Shs700,000, while the highest-paid earns over Shs1 million.
He added that under the UPE capitation grant, government gives Abele Primary School more than Shs16 million per term, and also builds infrastructure in the school.
The SMC had called the extraordinary meeting for parents to force them to pay compulsory fees for all pupils from Primary One to Primary Seven.
After the meeting, parents thanked the RDC for saving them from the compulsory fees imposed on them by the PTA and the SMC.
RDC Samuel Mpimbaza Hashaka stops compulsory fees of Shs72,000 to Shs180,000 at Abele Primary School, saying it is illegal for a UPE school to charge them.
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