Mega Fm & Agency
Gulu Senior Secondary School in Gulu City has maintained mandatory payments by parents under the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), arguing that the contributions are critical to the school’s operations and development.
The decision comes amid criticism from educationists and political leaders in the Acholi Sub-region following the government’s ban on compulsory PTA payments and extra charges in government-aided schools.
Enforcement of the policy started last month and has since seen hundreds of teachings and non-teaching staff whose salaries were funded through PTA contributions laid off from government-aided schools across the country.
However, Peter Okello, the PTA Chairperson at Gulu Senior Secondary School, told Mega FM on Tuesday that the new policy prevents parents from voluntarily contributing to the development of schools and the smooth learning of their children, yet government funding remains inadequate.
According to Okello, the school operates on an annual budget of 3.2 billion shillings, while the government allocates only 385 million shillings annually for its operations, which he said is not released on time.
By Friday last week, the government had not released the USE grant.
He noted that the school, with a population of about 3,000 students, should have 90 teachers on the government payroll.
However, only 58 teachers are employed by the government, leaving a gap of 32 teachers who are employed and paid through PTA contributions.
Okello also said the school requires 40 non-teaching staff, but only four are employed by the government, leaving 36 positions funded through PTA contributions.
Students in O’level at Gulu Senior Secondary School pay 284,000 shillings per term, while those in A’level pay 276,000 shillings.
In comparison, the government provides 58,000 shillings per O’level student and 90,000 shillings per A’level student per term under the USE programme.