Government-aided primary schools in Gulu District are struggling to maintain support services after the government banned mandatory Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) contributions, forcing schools to lay off cooks and other staff previously paid by parents.
Head teachers and teachers say the loss of cooks means teachers who previously ate meals prepared at school now have to leave school during the day to find food, with some walking long distances to their homes.
Agnes Oyela, the head teacher of Lukodi Primary School in Bungatira Sub-county, told Uganda Radio Network that the school laid off two cooks after the new directive took effect.
Oyela said the changes have made it difficult for teachers to manage their schedules, particularly because some live far from the school. “Since there is no contribution, the teachers are going hungry. We cannot keep the cooks anymore because no one can pay them, so teachers are going as they are,” Oyela said.
The school also laid off a matron, a security guard and a teacher who were being paid through parents’ contributions. Oyela said the loss of the support staff is affecting security, pupils’ welfare and teaching.
At Paibona Primary School in Paibona Sub-county, a teacher who declined to be named said the absence of cooks has affected both teachers and pupils who previously depended on meals prepared at school. She said the school laid off two cooks, a watchman and a teacher after the PTA contributions were stopped. The teacher said teachers previously had access to hot meals at school, but now some have to walk long distances home to eat or prepare food.
“The main problem is that as a teacher, you can’t really spend the entire day without having food. If you don’t eat, you can’t offer your services efficiently,” she said. The teacher said PTA contributions had also helped schools employ support staff and meet other needs that were not adequately covered by government funding.
Paibona Primary School, which has about 600 pupils, previously collected 20,000 shillings per pupil per term for PTA contributions and an additional 4,000 shillings for examinations. The teacher called for the government to reconsider the policy, arguing that the capitation grant provided to schools is insufficient to meet their operational needs.
“We want the government to reverse this decision to enable parents to contribute towards the development and education of their children. What the government sends to the school in capitation grant is so little,” she said. However, Jackline Akello, the Gulu District Education Officer, said schools have no option but to comply with the directive.
“A policy is a policy. They are supposed to follow it,” Akello said. The government announced the ban on mandatory PTA contributions and additional fee charges in September and directed all government-aided schools to comply.
The policy has since led to the laying off of teaching and non-teaching staff who were employed and paid through PTA arrangements, raising concerns among educationists and local leaders about how schools will meet basic operational needs without the contributions. The situation in Gulu highlights the challenge schools face in implementing the directive while maintaining services that had previously been financed through parents’ contributions-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
