A school fees dispute between a Senior Five student and her father took an unexpected turn during a rally organised by Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara in Rukiga District. Parvin Abaasa, a student at St Paul’s SS, surprised the gathering when she took the microphone to challenge her father’s defence of the school’s fees, arguing that the costs had placed a heavy burden on her family. What began as a public disagreement eventually ended with the student receiving a scholarship after the minister intervened.
The incident happened on Thursday, October 22, during an “Accountability and Expose the Corrupt” rally, where concerns about the school’s fees and the financial struggles of parents came under discussion. Abaasa’s father had earlier defended the school’s head teacher over the charges, maintaining that the high cost of education was justified by the standard of learning offered to students. However, his daughter’s intervention brought a different perspective to the debate.
Unable to hide her frustration, Abaasa called her father back to the podium and questioned why he continued supporting the fees when he was struggling financially. She explained that paying for her education had become increasingly difficult and that she was tired of depending on her father for money he could barely afford to provide. Her remarks drew attention from the crowd, which cheered as the disagreement unfolded in front of the minister and other attendees.
Her father acknowledged that his daughter was telling the truth about their financial difficulties but insisted that providing quality education sometimes required sacrifice. He maintained that parents had to work hard to give their children better opportunities, even when school fees were difficult to raise. Despite recognising the pressure his family faced, he continued to support the head teacher’s position on the fees charged by the school.
Abaasa, however, insisted that her family could no longer continue struggling to meet the costs. She told Minister Barugahara that her father worked as a local driver and had a medical condition affecting his feet, making their situation even more difficult. The student said she would rather transfer to a school her father could comfortably afford than continue putting him under financial pressure. Her intervention highlighted the difficulties some families face when trying to balance their children’s education with limited household income.
Minister Barugahara expressed concern over the situation and called on the school’s head teacher to consider the circumstances of parents who wanted quality education for their children but could not afford the fees. He also criticised a response attributed to the area school inspector, who had reportedly suggested that parents unable to pay could take their children to other schools. The minister questioned the approach, stressing the importance of fairness to families struggling to meet educational costs.
During the discussion, Barugahara said the government spent Shs70 million on teachers’ salaries at the school, bringing further attention to questions surrounding the fees charged by a government-funded institution. The disagreement highlighted the tension between the desire to maintain educational standards and the need to make schooling affordable for ordinary families. The incident also provided a public example of how school fees can become a source of conflict between parents and children when financial pressures mount.
The confrontation eventually produced a positive outcome for Abaasa when Minister Barugahara asked the head teacher to award her a scholarship. The head teacher agreed, offering the student relief from the financial difficulties that had prompted her public appeal. What started as a tense disagreement between a father and his daughter therefore ended with a potential solution to her school fees problem, while raising broader questions about the affordability of education and the support available to struggling families.
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