Fury as Uganda closes private schools British taxpayers gave £5million in foreign aid
63 schools received £5.5million in aid from UK taxpayers over past year
But Uganda’s High Court has ruled they had inadequate water supply
Questions have also been raised over the quality of teaching
British officials are claiming decision has been ‘politically motivated’
A string of schools part-funded by the British taxpayer have been closed down in Uganda amid claims of poor standards and insanitary conditions.
The 63 schools received £5.5 million in UK aid over the past year – but Uganda’s High Court has ruled they had inadequate water supply and, in some cases, no proper toilets.
Questions have also been raised over the quality of teaching. British officials hit back last night, claiming the decision had been ‘politically motivated’.
The ‘low-profit’ Bridge International Academies were opened last year, backed by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, Facebook tycoon Mark Zuckerberg and investment bank JP Morgan, as well as the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
The schools taught 12,000 pupils aged between four and 12, with parents paying £5 a month.
But earlier this year, a UN report into education in Uganda found that ‘private schools, in particular low-fee private schools, deliver the national education curriculum to students using poor-qualified or unqualified teachers’.
