Abstract:

Education is viewed as an instrument for reducing poverty and sustaining development [Uganda National Commission for UNESCO2010].Influential developments in international education has been the global push for universal access to education, as was reflected in the former Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] and the Education for All targets [EFA] (René Vermeulen,2013).These global movements do not only emphasise universal access to basic education, but universal access to quality education and learning. In line with the global movements, the government of Uganda (GoU) has, made enviable moves since the mid/late nineties to provide free education through universal primary and secondary education. Heralding these major reforms, GoU liberalised the education sector. This led to the propagation of proprietary Educational Institutions to meet the demand for classroom space to accommodate the influx of enrolling students. Drawing on research from Lingard, Knight and Porter (1993), profit seekers operate with market principles in mind.

Fielden and Norman La Rocque, point to profit as a key to private sector involvement in education. The government of Uganda proposed imposition of income tax on private primary and secondary schools. Taxes in many cases are cost drivers that are likely to have unforeseen consequences in regard to overall education attainment in terms of access and quality of education services in any low income developing country.

Currently there is no empirical data on the extent to which the levy of the tax on companies that have invested in primary and secondary education, will have on access and quality of education in Uganda. There is a big risk that the levy of the tax if implemented will threaten the attainment of key national and international commitments on education.

The paper will therefore, uses the Rapid Appraisal strategies to get quick information from 120 stakeholders on what they think about the research problem using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. This will be done in a participatory workshop, focused group discussions and through key informant interview to explore the question: How does imposition of income tax on private primary and secondary school affect access and quality of education in a developing country like Uganda? The resulting data will provide empirical evidence to policy makers on the implications of the tax on access and quality of education in a developing country using Uganda as a case study.

Keywords:

Private, Primary schools, Secondary Schools, education, Income tax, Access and quality.