Some schools in Kampala Capital City Authority are complaining due to failure of the capitation grant sent by KCCA to reach them over a month since it was disbursed.
The school year 2022 began on January 10, but the schools in Kampala under the Universal Primary Education –UPE schools have not yet received the funds, which KCCA says it had disbursed.
According to the report from KCCA, funds for the financial year 2021/22 first quarter has been released already to the schools. However, this report is contrary to the information got from some of the UPE schools in Kampala.
Alice Nabwire, the headteacher of Mutundwe Church of Uganda Primary School with a population of 505 pupils says due to the delays in the release of capitation grants by the government, they are currently relying on the “small” fees paid in by the parents to manage the school.
The government introduced the capitation grant to UPE schools to replace fees paid by parents that were scrapped. However, parents with children in public schools contribute some little funds agreed upon to support the feeding of their children.
And according to Nabwire, it is part of this money raised from the parents that they use to buy some of the urgent things as they wait for the capitation grant.
All schools benefiting from the capitation grant are expected to use the funds on purchasing scholastic materials (taking 35%), administration (10%), emergency expenditure (20%), co-curricular activities, and school management (15%).
James Wonyaka, the headteacher of Bat valley primary school says the school operations are affected by the delays of the capitation grant however, noting that they have hope that the government will be releasing the funds anytime.
“Since we started the term we have not received the capitation and what we know is that our leaders from KCCA are working on it,” says Wonyaka.
According to Wonyaka, the school has a population of 502 pupils currently.
The government provides 9,335 shillings per pupil per year and 44,021 Shillings per student per year, while the proposed amounts in the education sector budget of 2020/21 are 12,000 Shillings for UPE and 170,000Shillings for USE proposed by the.
Charles Maginot, the deputy director KCCA education and social services department says they still have a challenge of a low capitation grant which he says affects the delivery of quality education and sports in the city
.
Maginot says they receive a capitation grant of 643,533,843 Shs for the UPE enrollment of 68,937 pupils and 2,745,394,115 Shs for the enrollment of 62,365 students in secondary schools.
He, however, says that KCCA disbursed the capitation grant for the first quarter, and for the schools which have not yet accessed these funds the Authority will be making a follow-up to find out the problem.
Pius Oketcho, the headteacher of Mulago School for the deaf says the school is expecting to receive 960,000 Shs for the 200 pupils they have.
Oketcho says that since the beginning of the term in January they have to wait for the funds, however, surviving on some donations from well-wishers.
Another headteacher from Ntinda School for the Deaf, Juliet Mary Tumyhairwe says the school is expected to use the capitation grant to buy instructional materials like Manila papers, chalk, and other stationeries but since the reopening, in January they have not received any funds to serve the purpose.
According to Maginot, KCCA is going ahead to engage the ministry of education about the Special Needs Education grant –SNE to ensure that they are supported in other areas like meals.
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