By Ambrose Gahene
Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has said in a press conference that Parents and Guardians of School going children are going through hard financial times, despite the presence of free Government education through Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) countrywide. The party spokesperson, Sharon Oyat Arach made the observation, during a media briefing at the UPC Head Office in Kampala, on Wednesday.
“The burden of unpaid Second Term school fees balances coupled with Third Term fees is exerting enormous pressure on parents, guardians, pupils and students, as the school calendar for Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary schools resume on Monday, 14th September 2026, for the Third Term”
“Money lending institutions and local money lenders are exploiting the situation by advancing high-interest loans to desperate parents and guardians. In extreme cases, families are forced to sell household assets to raise school fees”, she said.
According to UPC’s observations contained in a press statement, both UPE and USE programs are grossly underfunded.
“According to the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Report of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Sports, Government allocates or commits UGX 20,000 per pupil per year under UPE and UGX 175,000 per student per year under USE, yet schools receive less, away from the allocated or committed figure as low as UGX 18,000 for UPE and UGX 160,000 for USE”.
“This is far below what is required to run schools. According to the National Planning Authority, at least UGX 63,546 for primary, UGX 532,720 for lower secondary and UGX 885,440 for upper secondary is required to deliver quality education. This chronic underfunding leaves schools with no alternative but to turn to parents and guardians to meet operational costs”, reads UPC statement in part.
UPC calls upon the Government to prioritize education in all budget frameworks and allocate adequate resources.
“The future progress of our country is anchored on the quality of education we offer to our children”, points out the statement.
On the new aligned A-Level curriculum, which emphasizes practical skills and innovation, UPC statement notes that; implementation is still in a transitional phase.
“UPC noted that the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) released syllabus and conducted training, but many schools continue to face challenges in fully adapting. It is important to note that the current Senior Six class constitutes the pioneer cohort under this aligned curriculum. UPC therefore calls upon the Government to strengthen support supervision to ensure that the pioneer candidates are adequately prepared for their final assessments”, adds the statement.
Mr. Muzeyi Faizo, UPC Media Coordinator, said furthermore, the rising cost of living, coupled with delayed rains, is beginning to affect Uganda’s food security. He said many schools will struggle to stock enough food for the entire term.
“UPC calls upon Government and other stakeholders to plan early and provide relief where necessary, as some regions are already experiencing acute food shortages”
“We have also noted that; the directive requiring boarding schools from densely populated areas of Kampala, Mukono, Wakiso and Mpigi to report two to three days earlier to avoid anticipated heavy traffic jam on the official opening day, places an additional strain on the budgets of boarding schools”, he said.
UPC statement in addition reiterates its call for the Government to fast-track the implementation of a Rapid Integrated Transport System, including reactivation of railway transport and provision of adequate high-capacity buses.