As schools prepare to reopen for candidate classes on October 15th, 2020, a number of schools heads have expressed reservations on the ability of most parents to pay exam registration fees for their children.
As a result, the schools head want the government to clear the examination registration fees and help them clear the teacher’s arrears to facilitate smooth operations. Patrick Nyonyintono, the headteacher Kani High school in Namasuba, says as private schools they survive purely on the fees paid by students.
He says the decision to allow only candidate classes to resume studies is a huge challenge given the effects of the lockdown. Nyonyintono suggests that government pays the exams registration fees for the candidates and allows parents to battle with the school fees.
He also notes that they are worried about some teachers that might not return, saying some of them have already set stringent terms for their return.
Lawrence Ssemujju, the deputy headteacher City Secondary school Wakiso also wants the government to clear the exams registration fees and recover the money from parents at a later date.
He explains that even during the normal school time they find it hard to get parents to clear registration fees on time.
Ssemujju notes that as school mangers they even fear to contact teachers and request them to return to their duty station without guarantees how they will clear their arrears.
Muhammad Sserugo, the Head Teacher Kinaawa High School in Kawempe, says they are going to find it hard to run schools with the limited number of students allowed to resume studies.
He says that they will not to spend money they don’t have to implement the Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs, which calls for more space and facilities.
However during his Sunday state of the nation address about covid-19, President YK Museveni said they have allocated twenty billion shillings to help private schools as an option to succeed. ENDS
