President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni continues to express frustrationabout those failing to implement the government policy of free education across the country, calling upon leaders at all levels to ensure that the program is fully implemented.
“I don’t want to use force on this matter. Discuss the issue of free education in government schools, including the technical schools. If we
need to add more money to the government schools, we shall do it,” President Museveni said.
The President made the remarks , while commissioning the Greater Mubende Presidential Zonal Skilling Hub in Kibuye-Vuga
Village, Kitenga Sub County, Mubende District.
President Museveni, who is in the region for his routine tour on wealth creation activities and the Parish Development Model (PDM), said
despite policies for Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE), as per the 1996 NRM manifesto, many
schools still charge fees, which have become barriers, preventing full access to education, especially for learners from poor families.
“In the 1996 NRM manifesto, we proposed to introduce free education.
However, you people here refused to implement that, and up to now,there are school charges in the primary and secondary schools. But we
knew that if you did that, you would exclude the children of the poor, and that;s what is happening. Because if you check even here, you can get me the figures of the children who finish Secondary Education. From Primary seven, how many continue up to senior six?” the President wondered.
“There are seven (7) years of primary school and there are 6 years in secondary school, but the figures I have for primary schools are 11
million children, and the ones in the secondary schools are 2 million, and yet the years are almost the same. So, what happened to the 9 million? It is the refusal to implement UPE and USE,” he added.
According to the President, he decided to start free education through the skilling hubs to show the public that free education is possible and can be very productive, based on the testimonies of the youths who are self-employed after acquiring skills.
