NEWS- The Police in Rukungiri District have in detention Akatukunda Denies, the head teacher of Karuzigye Primary School in Buhunga Sub County Rukungiri district for allegedly sending pupils away from a government aided school for defaulting school fees, the act that violates presidential directive on free education.
Rukungiri Deputy Resident Commissioner (DRDC) Ahimbisibwe Wilberforce Ongom detained Akatukunda after a parent, Caleb Twinomusinguzi, 70, contacted his office reporting that his 4 children had been sent home by the head teacher.
Twinomusinguzi claims to have paid a total of Ugx. 120,000 for this term, but he was shocked when the headmaster sent his children home demanding for more. Upon reaching out to his office, the head teacher informed him that the school demands him Ugx. 240,000 citing non-payment of school fees for the previous term as well.
The head teacher dismissed the pupils again on Monday when they started their exams, threatening to refuse them admission if they didn’t pay the school fees.
Twinomujuni was compelled to contact the Rukungiri Resident District Commissioner’s office to request assistance after his children spending three days at home while other pupils were doing examinations.
Deputy RDC Ongom arrived at the school this morning to find pupils concentrating hard on their examinations, but Twinomujuni’s children were nowhere to be seen.
He questioned the head teacher about the rationale behind sending pupils home while the school receives government funding for all pupils’ payments.
After bringing the three pupils, the head teacher refuted the accusation, but all pupils narrated to the RDC the head teacher sent them home when they had started writing their first exams this week on Monday.
The head teacher, Akatukunda Denies, was then detained, brought to the Buhunga Police Post to give a statement from where he was transferred to Rukungiri Central Police Station for further management of his case.
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DRDC Ongom said that the president has made it clear that no child should be sent away over fees instead schools should negotiate with parents to ensure continuity in learning.
Ongom said the arrest of Karuzigye Primary School head teacher should serve as a warning to other school heads who had the same mind.
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His arrest comes just a month after the Kebisoni Intergrated Primary School Headteacher Herbert Musasizi was arrested over the same matter by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
He was produced in the Rukungiri Grade one magistrate Court that granted him bail together with the School, PTA chairperson and other six committee members who are all accused of allegedly collecting fees from UPE pupils.
It should be remembered that on this year’s International Youth day, the President also emphasized the importance of free education in government schools, lamenting the fact that many Ugandans have not fully embraced this initiative. He reflected on the historical context of limited educational opportunities in his own youth and stressed the need for universal access to education to prevent school dropouts.
