Eighty eight additional private schools have been approved to partner with the ministry of education in the implementation of the government Universal Secondary Education - USE program.
The 88 schools expected to take on 10,560 students are located in different parts of the country. This brings to 516 private schools partnering with government on USE implementation.
Among the schools on the new list is Alero secondary school in Amuru district, Nyadri Secondary school in Arua and Strive secondary school in Hoima.
The Principal Education Officer in the Ministry of Education and Sports, Francis Agula says that the schools were considered after they applied to join the program. He says that the Ministry is to sign a memorandum of understanding with the proprietors of the new partner schools to implement USE.
According to Agula schools in Kampala do not appear on the new list because none applied to join the program.
//Cue in: iWe do not#
Cue out: #the ministry.i//
The USE program started in 2007 after President Yoweri Museveni's campaign pledge in 2006 to provide free secondary education. The number of students on the program has increased from 198,231 students in 2007 to 222,080 students in 2009.
Government pays 41,000 shillings for each student in a government aided school and 47,000 for any student in any private school partnering on the USE program.
However over the last three years the USE program continues to be hampered by lack of enough classroom space and lack of teachers among other problems.
