Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Saving for School Fees Program

Saving for School Fees Program

Through the Self Help Group Project we also run a program specifically designed to work with parents who have difficulty in paying the school fees of their children.



Problem Statement

Inability to pay school fees is one of the main prohibiting factors to education in Northern Uganda. Many children are excluded from school due to their parent’s inability to pay their fees.


Parents who fail to prepare before hand often struggle to find enough money to pay fees when they fall due. Through Self Help Groups we encourage members to put aside a small, manageable, amount each week, so that when it comes time to pay for school fees, members have saved enough to pay without difficulty.



Project Concept

We wish to form Self Help Groups of parents who cannot afford, or have difficulty paying, school fees. Self Help Groups are groups of community members who meet once a week to save and borrow money among themselves.


Through these groups, we will encourage members to save a small amount of money each week, and we will enable them to keep this money safe and secure. Members can then use their savings to help pay the school fees of their children. We believe this to be a cost effective and sustainable approach to addressing the problem of paying school fees.



Other Benefits

  • When the groups are saving, we also encourage that members with small businesses, eg market vendors, bakers, tailors, charcoal sellers, etc, be allowed to borrow from the group to invest in their businesses to help them earn extra income. This extra income can also contribute towards paying school fees.


  • If more parents are able to pay school fees and the attendance in schools is higher, this will also increase the income of schools. This additional income can be used by schools to higher more teachers, buy extra furniture and materials and contribute towards building extra classrooms.


  • Once the parents have saved enough for paying school fees the additional savings can be used to cover medical expenses if the children fall sick or to improve the diet of children that will help them to concentrate and perform better in school.