“We did the same for some of our Senior Four candidates. We, however, ask the parents to fulfil their commitments as agreed,” Katimbo said.
School administrators in Mukono District say the worsening economic situation has left many parents struggling to clear school fees for candidates preparing for their final examinations, forcing institutions to negotiate payment plans as they grapple with mounting arrears.
With Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) starting on November 3 and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations on November 9, headteachers say the number of parents unable to pay their children’s fees in full has risen, leaving schools caught between helping candidates sit their examinations and meeting their operational costs.
At Seeta High School’s Mbalala Campus, parents of Senior Six candidates on Saturday raised sh3m to help a colleague’s daughter who risked missing the forthcoming UACE examinations because of outstanding school fees.
The student’s mother struggled to clear the balance after her business was affected by evictions linked to a trade order enforcement exercise earlier this year. The student, whose identity has been withheld to protect her privacy, had performed well academically but faced the prospect of missing examinations she had prepared for over several years.
Ruth Nabayego Norah Tukahirwa, chairperson of the Senior Six parents’ committee, said they decided to intervene after learning about the student’s predicament.
“We raised the matter on our parents’ platform and agreed to help. I am happy that we have handed over sh3m to the school administration, and the student will now sit her examinations without that worry,” Nabayego said.
The seven-member committee handed over the money to headteacher Boniface Ssebukalu on Saturday, October 24, following dedication prayers for Senior Six candidates led by Fr Anthony Musaala of Kampala Archdiocese.
Ssebukalu said that though this student’s case was exceptional, several other parents had also failed to clear their children’s outstanding fees and had been allowed to settle the balances through payment plans.
At St Stephen’s Senior Secondary School in Ddandira Village, Mukono Central Division, headteacher Jonathan Mawanda said the financial pressure on families had worsened, with more parents seeking extensions to pay fees than in previous years.
“Because we also see the current economic hardships, we had no option but to listen and come to an agreement with our parents on how they will clear their children’s outstanding balances afterwards. Unfortunately, the numbers this time are bigger than before,” Mawanda said.
Gordon Katimbo, headteacher of Hilton High School in Bukasa Village, Nakisunga Sub-county, said some parents had approached the school to negotiate payment arrangements for their Senior Six candidates.
“We did the same for some of our Senior Four candidates. We, however, ask the parents to fulfil their commitments as agreed,” Katimbo said.
However, the school administrators said their willingness to accommodate struggling parents had not always translated into timely payments, with some families failing to honour agreements and leaving schools with growing debts.
This comes even as schools have appealed to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) to allow them to withhold examination results for candidates whose parents have outstanding school fees.
Mawanda said he still had UNEB results for some former students who had left school with unpaid fees more than 15 years ago.
“We do not know how these students proceed with their studies without their results. However, some return after several years, clear their outstanding fees and collect their UNEB results,” he said.
One headteacher recounted a case involving a parent with two children at the school who left a land title with the administration as a guarantee that he would clear fees that had accumulated for more than a year.
The parent subsequently failed to pay. When contacted recently, he reportedly acknowledged the debt and promised to settle it soon.
The administrators said the situation had placed schools under pressure because they still had to meet their operating costs even when parents failed to pay fees on time.
RDC warns schools
Against this backdrop, Mukono Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Hajat Fatuma Ndisaba Nabitaka has warned private school directors and headteachers against blocking registered candidates from sitting their Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) examinations over unpaid school fees.
“Any headteacher or director who blocks a registered candidate from sitting examinations because of unpaid school fees will be arrested and charged accordingly,” Ndisaba warned.
She urged parents to verify their children’s registration status early enough to allow time for any errors or omissions to be corrected before examinations begin.
Her warning follows the arrest of four administrators of Lorretoh Senior Secondary School in Nantabulirirwa Cell, Goma Division, Mukono Municipality, over allegations that they failed to register 29 Senior Four candidates and six Senior Six candidates with UNEB despite receiving their registration fees. The incident led to the school’s closure.
The suspects are headteacher Tom Omwijeho and directors Daniel Baganzi, Martin Emito and Francis Ochuku.
Ndisaba said she did not want a repeat of incidents in which candidates were prevented from sitting their final papers, warning that those responsible would face the law.
Seeta High Parents Raise Sh3m to Rescue Student from Missing UACE Exams