Parents, schools and Uneb in a fix over fees defaulters 

The issue of candidates being blocked from sitting P7, S4, and S6 final exams due to unpaid fees balances in Uganda continues to stir controversy.

While schools face criticism for penalizing candidates at the last minute, the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) struggles to address the contentious practice. Meanwhile, the Education ministry advises schools to allow students to sit exams and withhold certificates, urging parents to appeal before exams commence.

Despite challenges, blocking students over fees lacks legal repercussions, heightening the debate on the delicate balance between education rights and financial responsibilities, writes YUDAYA NANGONZI.

At every start of the final examinations for P7, S4, and S6 candidates, reports of candidates being blocked from sitting papers over unpaid fees balances trickle in. This practice has remained a controversial one as blocking candidates has been largely seen as an infringement on their right to education.

On the other hand, schools are increasingly being criticized by the general public and the Education ministry for unfairly penalizing candidates at the last hour. The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb), which is tasked with conducting the examinations, is also struggling to address this contentious issue in a bid to minimize its impact on the candidate’s academic progress.

The O-level examinations – now in the third week – began with episodes of schools blocking candidates. On the first day, all candidates at Progressive SS Kitintale rallied behind their five colleagues who had been barred from sitting geography paper one due to fees balances. The candidates claimed the school administration had initially okayed the affected students to pay half the fees but made a U-turn demanding full payment.

While candidates elsewhere prepared to enter examination rooms, at Kitintale, they held bed sheets inscribed with words: “Please our dear director and head teacher, listen to our voices.”

It took an impromptu meeting among parents of the affected candidates, school administration, and area leaders to allow the five candidates to write their examinations. In Mbale, some candidates sought refuge from the police after they had been blocked from sitting exams over fees balances.

The case was brought to the attention of the Education ministry which directed the schools to allow the learners to sit for their examinations and then inform Uneb afterward to withhold the results if they had not paid by the time the results were released.

TRICKY SITUATION

According to the Uneb executive director, Dan Odongo, the government should seriously look into this matter so that parents, candidates and schools are not disadvantaged in the long run.

Odongo said this is a tricky situation and, if not addressed, may get out of hand for parents to make it a habit not to pay school fees. He insisted that some parents are taking schools for granted.

“Morally, parents must pay school fees. Some people deliberately don’t pay fees because they know their children have registered with Uneb and will not be blocked,” Odongo told The Observer.

He added: “I feel for the schools because most private ones rely on fees to run their activities. So, if you don’t pay fees, how is the school going to manage the Uneb examinations that you registered for?”

Odongo disclosed that during the examination period, some parents with fees balances also run to Uneb offices in Ntinda. Yet, the board has no authority over schools as far as fees are concerned.

“Sometimes, I wonder what to do for such parents. I have consistently advised them to go back to school and resolve the matter amicably with the school head teachers. I know some parents may genuinely lack the fees but still, go to schools before exams start and negotiate a payment process,” he said.

Odongo, however, blamed head teachers for allowing candidates to accumulate high fees balances under their watch.

“Why do you allow someone to study and wait for the Uneb exams to sort out your fees problems? If you were kind enough to allow them study till the final examinations, you may as well allow them to sit and look for your money later.”

Whereas Uneb has powers to withhold results of fees defaulters at a fee paid by schools, this system has got limitations. Schools normally submit index numbers to Uneb so that the results can neither be accessed on the school portal nor the SMS platform until a candidate clears their fees.

However, during the national selection and placement exercise for S1 and S5 students, Uneb hands over all the results of candidates to the ministry. This implies that if one with a fees balance performs well, they can easily trace the school where they were placed and continue with their education.

HOW PARENTS CHEAT SCHOOLS

While joining senior one or five, some schools hardly ask for Uneb results as long as a child was selected in the national exercise. So, a child with fees balances can study up to S4 or S6 when they either run back to their former school to pay the fees and collect original slips needed for registration or devise other means of getting the results.

The deputy secretary general of the National Private Educational Institutions Association (NPEIA), Alex John Seruwo, said some parents who are deliberately fees cheats often go for the cheaper options of getting the results.

“If a school is demanding like Shs 1m, some parents bribe head teachers to give them pass slips of children who died or dropped out of school to register for exams at the secondary level. The same parents go ahead to swear affidavits changing the name of their child to match the fake pass slip. So, instead of paying the full one million owed to them, they spend less to make forgeries,” Seruwo explained.

He said that some children drop out of school completely before results are released hence parents find no reason to complete the fees balances. Also, a school proprietor, Seruwo said some schools have been successfully recovering their monies through written agreements with parents in addition to positing their original National IDs as collateral before a child sits final exams.

This arrangement is also being phased out after the police and sister security agencies indicated that the IDs have no economic or monetary value and are supposed to be used exclusively for identification purposes.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said any act of confiscation, removing, taking, or handing over a National ID, as collateral is illegal. He quoted section 77 (f ) of the Registration of Persons Act which shows that any person in possession of more than one national ID or alien’s identification card commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 48 currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both.

Schools are now in a fix to devise ways to guarantee recovery of their monies as blocking candidates and withholding their results by Uneb have proved futile to a larger extent. According to the director of Technology and Reprographics at Uneb, Dr Peter Wakabi, when the results of fees defaulters are blocked, the clearing process does not go beyond three hours.

These results, and all the other Uneb results, remain accessible using the SMS platform until the next release. For instance, the results for 2022 candidates are still accessible until the results for the current 2023 candidates are released next year.

“BE HUMANE”

The Education ministry spokesman, Dr Denis Mugimba, acknowledged the growing trend of blocking candidates from sitting final examinations. He urged schools to consider alternative solutions for addressing unpaid fees instead of locking out candidates.

“Head teachers, please be humane. If a child has been in your school for at least one year, don’t deny them a future by blocking them to sit final examinations,” Mugimba said.

He added that the Education minister, Janet Museveni, has since guided on the matter: “…. once a student has been registered to sit end-of-cycle examinations, even if they have pending fees balances, allow them to sit exams and withhold their pass slips or certificates. The school is also supposed to communicate this information to Uneb instead of jeopardizing the entire education journey of the child.”

For parents whose children are on the verge of being blocked, Mugimba urged them to appeal directly to the ministry’s permanent secretary before Uneb examinations commence.

“If the school stops the child from entering the examination room over fees at the last hour, it is too late for the ministry to intervene,” he said.

With no legal provisions against schools for blocking candidates from sitting final exams over school fees balances, the matter remains contentious. Meanwhile, Odongo said if there were legal implications for blocking students, “it would be a very dangerous precedent as parents would no longer pay school fees.”