KAMPALA, Uganda — Last month, Shalom Mirembe was dismissed from school due to outstanding fees while her father lay dying in a hospital. Her mother, who is a shoe vendor and the primary caregiver for four children, found herself trapped between the school’s pressing demands for payment and her husband’s grave condition. As she sat with her husband in his final moments, school officials relentlessly contacted her, insisting on immediate tuition payment.
For Justine Nangero, the struggle to manage the family’s financial obligations while trying to keep her children in school is a painful balancing act. “You have to care for this one, you have to care for the other one,” she explained, highlighting the ongoing battle to ensure her children’s education remains intact. Unfortunately, the constant pressure for payments makes her feel powerless as the school’s patience wears thin.
This situation is common in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa where a few hundred dollars can have a significant impact on a child’s educational prospects. The region has historically struggled with high dropout rates primarily due to financial challenges. According to the World Bank, over half of adults in sub-Saharan Africa prioritize school fees over medical expenses and other financial commitments.
In Uganda, school fees are a major source of distress for 40% of the population, with top-tier government-supported schools demanding tuition as high as $700 for a three-month term. This figure is staggering for a nation where the GDP per capita was just $864 in 2023. The unpredictable increases in tuition, often lacking justification, have caused widespread concern and have prompted calls from some lawmakers for better regulation to safeguard parents from such financial strains.
The Uganda Equal Opportunities Commission has reported that arbitrary fee hikes lead to increased dropout rates, causing children to leave school prematurely. Current statistics indicate that school attendance severely declines from 68% in primary school to just 22% in secondary school, with financial hardship cited as the leading cause for this trend.
While Uganda initiated a universal secondary education program in 2007 intended to alleviate some of these issues, many families find the schools underfunded and unappealing. Although these institutions do not charge tuition, parents are often faced with excessive expenses for uniforms, textbooks, and other necessary items which can be burdensome.
In private education, however, government intervention in fee regulation is non-existent. A representative from the Ministry of Education stated that fee-setting is strictly an administrative matter based on market conditions. Some additional levies, like those for “capital development,” should not be shouldered by parents, they argued.
Private schools have proliferated throughout Uganda, catering to rising demand yet presenting concerns regarding the commercialization of education. Critics argue that educational institutions should not operate like businesses. Experts are calling for standardized regulations to ensure transparency and predictability in school fees across the board.
Parents often have to contend with routine costs that can encompass everything from contributions for transportation to supplies like laboratory equipment. However, the necessity of certain fees, particularly those perceived as arbitrary — such as requests for basic materials like photocopying paper — raises questions about financial accountability.
For Mirembe’s school on the outskirts of Kampala, term fees amount to around $300, with an expectation that families pay 70% of this at the beginning of the term. Unfortunately, many parents struggle to meet this requirement, leading some, like Nangero, to send their children to lessons without having paid anything upfront, hoping for leniency from authorities.
The school has established tracking systems for payments, while a lack of compliance can result in students being denied access. Joanita Seguya, a deputy head teacher at Wampewo Ntakke Secondary, noted that around 400 of the 2,100 students come from families that face significant financial obstacles. To accommodate these households, the school sometimes accepts payments in goods like fruits and vegetables.
Nangero, who lives in a cramped space with her children, lacks any such resources to offer. Her shoe business, already strained by the cost of schooling, has diminished, worsened by the recent death of her husband, who contributed to the family’s income as a carpenter. The emotional toll this situation takes on her children is profound, with days spent out of school when officials become impatient about unpaid fees. She feels fortunate that two of her sons are receiving support from an evangelical cleric, a rare act of kindness facilitated through their religious community.
Mirembe, who is preparing for her final exams, was initially able to start the term this September due to a sympathetic bursar. However, as her father’s condition worsened, the school administration grew less understanding, ultimately leading to her dismissal right before her father passed away.
The situation illustrates the harsh realities many families face while navigating the educational system. One local father, Moses Serikomawa, recounted the heart-wrenching impact of financial insecurity as his seven children dropped out of school for lack of tuition. With a jobless status, he described the hardship of trying to raise over $200 for school fees every term while struggling to provide basic food for his family.
Despite expressing a desire for their children to return to school, Serikomawa’s family confronts a harsh reality where educational aspirations clash with financial incapacities. “When I look at my children, there is no joy, no joy at all,” he lamented, reflecting the desperate situation faced by many families in Uganda.
