Ugandan children who got good marks in primary school last year are the first pupils to benefit from free education at many secondary schools, BBC online reports Monday.
Fewer than half Ugandas children go to secondary school, but about 100.000 children are expected to take part in the new scheme which started on Monday.
But a BBC correspondent in the capital, Kampala, said there was not a huge rush to take up the offer.
Donors have backed the move, which applies to some 1.000 schools.
This is the first such scheme in East Africa. The government says it is spending some 30 billion Ugandan shillings (1,5 million US dollar) on the expansion of secondary schooling.
Schools with fees of 75.000 shillings (37 dollar) or less a term will qualify, whether they are private or state-run.
Only 40 per cent of the 350.000 primary school graduates in the country are absorbed into secondary schools each year. President Yoweri Museveni pledged during his re-election campaign last year to help needy high school students.
Many students have been dropping out of secondary school because of the high cost of school fees. Education experts in the capital, Kampala, say the demand for secondary schools has been high since the government introduced free primary education in 1997, but state facilities are limited, BBC adds.
