Kole MP Okello asks government to regulate school fees

By Alice Lubwama

Kole North legislator Bonny Okello has appealed to Government to come up with standard fees for public secondary schools so that students can complete their education.

In an interview with the lawmaker, he noted that many bright children have dropped out of school after primary seven because their parents cannot afford to pay the high fees in government schools.

Okello says majority of the parents have been in the IDP camps for a long time and depend on subsistence farming so they cannot raise 400,000 shillings charged per term.

"Right now an average government school pays around UGX400,000 per term which is quiet pricey for an ordinary person in the constituency to raise that money". Okello said

The MP says seed schools were meant to support those areas which are disadvantaged but they are also charge exorbitant fees.

The mp says that the children would have joined the technical and vocational institutions after primary seven but there is no single institution in his constituency.

Okello adds that more girls were dropping out of schools to pave way for the boys to continue with their studies.

According to census report 2014, only 16000 people with had O`Level in Kole district considering a population of 40,000 people.