The Church of Uganda is planning to turn some of its government-supported schools into private schools.
This decision comes in response to the government’s push for free education for all, a plan that has raised concerns about how it might affect the quality of education.
Through this strategy, the Church hopes to maintain high standards and have more control over how the schools are run.
This idea has been discussed in several meetings, with the most recent one happening last week during the Church’s 27th provincial assembly.
In this meeting, Church leaders talked about the challenges that could come with the government’s new education policy and decided that turning some schools private might be the best solution.
This decision was made after careful consideration of how it could affect the Church’s role in education across Uganda.
“Some schools will be run as private, likely impacting the top traditional schools, but discussions are ongoing since the government has investments in these institutions,” according to a member of the assembly.
The information available shows that the board of education has already suggested a full plan to operate some schools as entirely private.
However, they are still open to working with the government on how to implement the free education policy.
Statistics reveal that the Church of Uganda manages about 42 percent of government-aided schools in the country.
However, reliable sources suggest that the Church intends to withdraw only its top schools, often referred to as traditional schools, such as Gayaza High, Mengo, King’s College Budo, Nyakasura, and Ndejje, among others.
In recent years, there has been growing concern over the rising school fees and related charges.
While people accepted high fees in private schools, they were upset by similarly high costs in public schools.
In response, the government has taken action, and last year, the cabinet declared that education in public and government-aided schools would be completely free, instructing the foundation bodies to adhere to this policy.
However, this decision has sparked dissatisfaction among the foundation bodies and school leaders.
They argue that the government cannot eliminate fees without first addressing critical issues such as ensuring all teachers are on the payroll, improving their welfare, increasing capitation and infrastructure grants, and meeting the daily operational needs of schools.
In April this year, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu of the Church of Uganda also voiced concerns about how schools could continue to function and develop without charging fees, especially since the government has not provided the necessary funds.
Since March of last year, high-level meetings have been held to address this issue, including several convened by the president at the State House.
Dr. Denis Mugimba, the Ministry of Education spokesperson, mentioned that the issue is likely to be resolved through ongoing negotiations.
He noted that discussions are still in progress, and at this time, he cannot provide further details on the specifics.
A cabinet memo shared last year indicated that the implementation of free compulsory education was set to begin in July this year.
However, with ongoing negotiations with foundation bodies like the Church of Uganda and the government yet to allocate the necessary funds, the start date remains uncertain.
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