An education trip the management of Seeta High School is organizing for students during the December holiday for destinations in France and Dubai has sparked controversy causing the school to be subjected to unprecedented criticism and public scrutiny. An angry parent started it all when he posted a copy of the circular on one of the Seeta High School OBs’ whatsapp forums where one of our reporters is a member. The parent raised his objections accompanying the circular and an intense debate instantly started.
In what the public, parents and students have described as being insensitive to parents during today’s biting economic times, the school has since been criticized for requiring parents to pay $1,800 and another $2,900 respectively for the Dubai and France trips. They are both in December and one is a continuation of the other meaning a student must participate in both. Assuming the exchange rate to be at Shs4,000 fetching $1, this totals to over Shs11.6m per student. Whereas some few well to do parents wouldn’t mind paying so much for their children to get exposure, the amount being asked for has been described by critics as being prohibitively too high for some parents who struggle to even raise school fees. But a school official, who didn’t want to be named fearing reprisals for speaking to media, defended the Shs11.6m being asked on grounds that it’s optional and not compulsory for any parent. See more in the school circular that has since caused Minister JC Muyingo’s school to endure unprecedented criticism by Ugandans on social media.
