Parliament tasks Gov’t on Private Schools policy

The Parliament has given the Ministry of Education and Sports a six (6) months ultimatum to develop a policy document that will regulate the operations of private schools in the country.

Members of Parliament are furious because thousands of private schools are run without any policy for 30 years since the education sector was liberalized in 1993.

The 2021/22 Auditor General’s report on the Ministry of Education and Sports revealed that since the liberalization of education sector, private schools and institutions have been established by private investors and are run in anyway the proprietors want.

This has led to some some proprietors charging exorbitant school fees which has left many parents across the country enraged wondering why the government does not step in to regulate them.

The report by the Ministry’s Accounting Officer however explained that the development of a private education provision policy was included in the work plan for Financial Year 2022/23 but it could not takeoff because it was not funded by the Ministry of Finance.

The MPs noted that without this policy, it is very difficult for the Ministry to regulate the conduct of Private Schools especially the exorbitant fees charged and other related activities.

Now Parliament wants the Ministry of Education budgets to work closely with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to ensure the process is funded such that the policy is in place within six (6) months.

The policy includes; the National Inclusive Education Policy; the National Higher Education Policy; the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy; the Education Management Information System (EMIS) Policy; the Instructional Materials Policy; and the School Health Policy.

According to the Auditor General’s report, the Ministry had planned to conclude several policies including; the Tertiary Institutions Act 2001, the National Curriculum, Assessment, and Placement Policy, School Feeding Policy, Inspection and Quality Assurance Policy in the financial year 2022/23.
But none was implemented in the set-out timeframe due to budgetary issues.

The Ministry informed the MPs that the implementation of the Education for sustainable development policy is awaiting a Certificate of Financial Implications from the Ministry of Finance, and after obtaining a Certificate of Financial Implications, a Cabinet Memo has to be submitted to Cabinet Secretariat to obtain a Cabinet Memo number to enable the presentation of the draft policy to the Cabinet.

According to MPs, the policy is key for the Ministry to effectively supervise, regulate and guide the Education Sector.