The former parish priest at Kitanga parish in the Kabale diocese Rev. Fr Gaetano Batanyenda has expressed dismay at Government’s plan to force parents to pay for milk at school to boost the performance of students.
On 6 September 2022, the Assistant Commissioner of Private Schools and Institutions in the Ministry of Education, Mr George Muteekanga, told a joint planning meeting that the new program starts this term in 13 local government schools in Mukono, Kampala and Wakiso and will be rolled out to the rest of the country in January next year.
He asked the school management committees to ensure that parents participate, contribute and pay.
Mr Muteekanga, however, said parents who are unable to pay through the school should be allowed to give learners money to buy milk from the school canteens during breakfast.
Addressing the journalists in Kabale town, Fr. Gaetano Batanyenda said that even though the Ruling government pretends to mind its people, it gives the people in leadership the first priority and ordinary people come as second Priority.
He added that many students have not reported back to their respective schools due to the increased school fees which is caused by the current economic crisis where commodity prices have skyrocketed.
Fr Batanyenda says it is unfortunate that the government is forcing parents to pay for milk when they have failed to raise school fees
Gaetano further questioned whether president Museveni, or others in leadership took milk while at school
He suspected the fall in the price of milk-producing areas of Kiruhuura District to be the reason why the government wants to sell milk to parents.
