Fred Bahati, the Acting Ntungamo District Education Officer (DEO), is pushing for the government to clearly define the roles of foundation bodies that help manage grant-aided schools.
He says the lack of clarity has led to conflicts, with some of these groups acting as though they have complete control over schools, causing tensions between the government and foundation bodies.
Bahati made these comments while speaking to the Nuwe-Amanya Mushega-led Education Policy Review Commission, which is collecting feedback from different regions on how to fix challenges in Uganda’s education system.
He further highlighted that many of the problems in grant-aided schools stem from foundation bodies overstepping their boundaries.
Foundation bodies include religious organisations like the Catholic Church, the Church of Uganda, Seventh-Day Adventists, and the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council.
These groups have historically played a significant role in education, especially before Uganda gained independence when they were the primary managers of schools.
However, after Uganda’s independence in 1963, the government nationalised these schools to reduce discrimination.
Decades later, when the National Resistance Movement (NRM) took power, the schools were returned to their original religious foundations but with an agreement that they would still receive government support.
Now, these schools are meant to be jointly managed by the government and foundation bodies.
The government provides funding for infrastructure, educational materials, and salaries for the staff. Still, Bahati points out that many foundation bodies have taken on more control than they are supposed to. This leads to confusion and conflict.
According to Bahati, some foundation bodies are now directly involved in setting school fees and using money without consulting the School Management Committees (SMCs) or Parents Teacher Associations (PTAs).
They also try to influence decisions about which teachers and headteachers should be appointed, often insisting on their own choices, even if those individuals are not the most qualified.
This overreach is becoming a national issue, with foundation bodies and the Ministry of Education frequently clashing over school management.
One high-profile example occurred in 2022, when there was a dispute between the Ministry of Education and the Kampala Archdiocese regarding appointing a new headteacher for St. Mary’s College Kisubi, a prestigious school in Uganda.
The ministry proposed Brother Augustine Mugabo, who was already serving as a headteacher at another prominent school. However, the Archdiocese rejected the decision.
The disagreement was only resolved after months of negotiations, demonstrating how deeply these conflicts can run.
Bahati believes that if the roles and responsibilities of foundation bodies are clearly outlined, these conflicts can be avoided, and schools can run more efficiently.
He stressed the importance of revisiting laws and policies to better define the role of these groups in school management.
Issues in Secondary Education Management
Bahati also raised concerns about how secondary education is managed in Uganda. He pointed out that secondary teachers are hired by the central government, but their salaries are paid by local governments.
This split responsibility creates problems in managing and supervising teachers. For example, sometimes teachers are transferred to different districts without informing the local governments they used to work for.
In some cases, this has led to teachers being paid salaries by more than one district or being completely removed from payroll systems by mistake.
The DEO argued that this partial decentralisation of secondary education is inefficient. He suggested that the commission look into fully centralising or decentralising the management of secondary education, rather than keeping it in this awkward middle ground.
Proposed Solutions
Bahati’s main proposal is to define the roles of foundation bodies more clearly so that both the government and these organisations understand their limits.
He believes this will help reduce the friction between the two and improve the overall management of grant-aided schools.
He also called for reforms in how secondary education is managed, either by giving the central government full control or decentralising everything to the local governments.
According to him, this would ensure a smoother, more effective education system where accountability is clear.
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