Kiryandongo District has ordered the immediate withdrawal of Parent-Teacher Association teachers from government-aided schools and the closure of boarding sections in all government primary and secondary schools. The directive was issued by Kiryandongo Chief Administrative Officer Anthlem Kyaligonza and circulated last week to head teachers and school management committees.
Kyaligonza said teachers who are not on the government payroll must leave government schools immediately, while school authorities have been directed to stop charging parents school fees until the Ministry of Education and Sports issues fresh guidance. He said the directive follows the government’s position that schools under Universal Primary Education and Universal Secondary Education should not impose additional charges on parents.
Kyaligonza said Kigumba Church of Uganda Primary School is among the schools most affected by the directive. The school has 30 PTA teachers compared to only 19 teachers on the government payroll, with parents previously contributing money to support the additional teachers. He said teacher staffing across Kiryandongo currently stands at only 30 percent of the required level, meaning that only three out of every ten required teachers are available.
Kyaligonza said the district does not have a wage budget to recruit additional teachers and will write to the Minister of Education and Sports to explain the likely impact of the withdrawal of PTA teachers on the performance of government schools.
He has also directed government schools to close their boarding sections, arguing that they cannot operate boarding facilities without charging parents, yet the government has prohibited extra charges in UPE and USE schools. “We have advised parents to stop paying school fees. Those who are willing to pay should take their children to private schools. No one should pay extra money because the government has already paid for everything under UPE and USE,” Kyaligonza said.
The directive has, however, triggered concern among parents and residents who say the withdrawal of PTA teachers and closure of boarding sections could affect learners, particularly in schools already facing severe staff shortages.
Charles Byamukama, a resident of Kigumba Town Council, said parents are worried about how their children will perform in the upcoming Primary Leaving Examinations because some schools have far fewer teachers than the number of pupils. He said the school feeding programmes previously supported by parents had also helped keep children in class, arguing that hungry pupils struggle to concentrate on their lessons.
Rose Atugonza, a parent at Kikuube Primary School in Kiryandongo Town Council, said the boarding section had contributed to good performance among Primary Seven candidates. She said its closure could undermine the performance of pupils in government-aided schools.
Jackson Uthuba, a parent at Kigumba Secondary School, said the withdrawal of PTA teachers would particularly affect the teaching of science subjects, where government schools already face shortages of teachers. A teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity said the directive could significantly affect academic performance in government schools.
“The teacher said PTA contributions had supported additional examinations and other activities that schools could struggle to maintain once parents stop making payments.
It is on record that parents have been paying a minimum of 20,000 to 30,000 shillings per term in government schools to support PTA teachers and other activities such as lunch, extra lessons and examinations, and without PTA fees children may starve due to hunger in schools,” the teacher said.
However, Samuel Mbabazi, the Assistant Resident District Commissioner for Kiryandongo, defended the directive, saying school fees and other charges have prevented some children from accessing education. He said UPE and USE were introduced to provide free education and that schools should therefore comply with government policy.
Kiryandongo Woman Member of Parliament Jovia Katusiime urged parents to take greater responsibility for their children’s education and ensure they remain in school.
Katusiime also called on parents to strengthen supervision of their children, citing teenage pregnancy as a major cause of school dropout in the district.
She urged school managers to comply with the government directives while ensuring that children continue accessing education. The district administration says it will engage the Ministry of Education and Sports over the staffing shortages and the implications of the directive, particularly in schools that have relied heavily on PTA teachers to fill gaps left by government staffing-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
