EDRINE BENESA: How Illegal Fees is Chocking The President's Universal Education Vision

Uganda's Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) programs were founded on a simple, powerful promise: that every child, regardless of wealth or background, would have access to free education. It was a national commitment to equality, a declaration that the future of this country would not be determined by the size of a parent's wallet. Yet today, that promise is being quietly eroded by a widespread and deeply entrenched practice—public schools that receive full government funding continue to charge illegal, exorbitant fees. This betrayal has persisted despite repeated warnings from President Yoweri Museveni, who has consistently insisted