KAMPALA-UGANDA/NEWSDAY: Administrators of Mengo Secondary School have defied a directive by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) to charge official examination registration fees for candidates.
Officials said they were not bound by UNEB’s directive and refused to issue examination cards to students who had not paid Shs293,00 that the school levied from candidates for their registration. It means dozens of students may miss sitting their Mock Exams that start tomorrow (Monday).
Many Parents had paid the official fees of Shs 186,000 and Shs164,000 for their Senior Sic and Senior Four respectively as this is what is stipulated by UNEB.
On April 19 during a Media address, UNEB acting Chief executive officer, Nagoshya Masikye cited section 33 of UNEB Act as prohibitive to charges of registration fees beyond what government prescribed.
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The section slaps a Shs40 million or a ten-year jail term for offenders or both. Another punishment can be cancellation of the examination centre.
By Friday, at least 200 students had been chased to go back home to pay the illegal fees. This term alone, each candidate has paid a total of Shs 1,195,000 (Shs50,000 for evening tea, Shs150,000 for holiday studies and Shs995,000 as tuition.)
Various teacher’s spoken to alluded to the fact that UNEB’s directive cannot affect the school’s decision and therefore they Mengo Senior School, a co-educational government aided school, located on Hoima Road Plot 422, was founded in 1895 by the Church Missionary Society. It is the oldest school in Uganda. With 50 as number of Classrooms, the has 4801students.
“We are not bound by them, let them let us be,” one senior staff said.
The school is headed by Mr. Nantagya Grace Ssebanakitta who joined in 2021. Overall since its founding in 1895, the school has been administered by 15 head teachers.
Mr Nantajja said the extra fees were agreed upon by the parents and management.
But sources said that early at the beginning of term one, the administration called a parents meeting in which they were presented with the new fees.
At the time, Mr Nantajja said that the fees were necessary because they needed “logistical help.”
In Sunday’s interview, he denied any student had been stopped from sitting for their mocks.
“The fee was agreed upon by both parents and school. (Also) no child was stopped from doing mocks,” Nantajja said
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