The matter came to light after Alice Awilli, the senior woman teacher, conducted routine medical checks on female students. While initial reports suggested two girls were pregnant one allegedly having undergone an abortion it was later confirmed that only one Senior Five student was seven months pregnant.
The schools often register big numbers in the lower classes and the enrollment keeps dropping from the upper level as children get involved in other economic activities that limit them from completing the primary education cycle.
However, when they reach the adolescent stage, the children especially girls withdraw from school to get married while boys are taken to the kraal to look after livestock.
On 3rd October this year, the Equal Opportunity Commission summoned headteachers of 50 schools from Luwero government-aided schools together with District Education Officials and grilled them for charging illegal fees from parents.
In 2023, the Ministry of Education and Sports contracted Rohi Services Limited to construct facilities at St Andrew Kaggwa Seed Secondary School in Butuntumula sub-county. The facilities included the construction of two classroom blocks, two science laboratories, an administrative block, toilets, a sports field and a multipurpose hall among others.
Rt. Hon Rosemary Namayanja Nsereko the Deputy Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement said that Koomu’s fight for better education grades is justifiable and the teachers are key stakeholders in ensuring that learners pass.
In June 2024, for example, the education authorities in Moroto district were forced to suspend operations at three community schools due to growing security threats posed by armed rustlers to both learners and teachers.
From 2019 - 2023, UNICEF supported the government of Uganda with funding from the Korean government to implement a water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools Programme. The program supported 92 primary and 8 secondary schools across 9 districts of Karamoja
The major focus was on WASH Infrastructure, and behavior change promotion intervention that comprises of climate resilient water system benefiting schools and nearby communities.
The affected community schools were constructed by Save the Children, Building for Tomorrow and Rosemary Namayanja Foundation, to extend education services to hard-to-reach areas, and subsequently handed over to Nakaseke District.
Sandra Apio, a teenage mother of twins studying at Musupo Primary School, shared her story. She conceived at 14, was abandoned by her boyfriend, and faced severe hardship with no support from her parents.
Early this month, the Ministry of Education and Sports transferred David Balaba Ssenkungu the headteacher of Luwero Secondary School to Ndejje Secondary School all churches founded schools. This after the headteacher of Ndejje SS Dr Canon Charles Kahigiriza retired after clocking retirement mandatory age.
On Friday, over 300 learners from selected Nursery schools from all the nine districts of Karamoja gathered at Lomukura primary school in Kotido municipality to showcase some of their games in the learning through-play approach.
Dr. Jerry Bagaya, the Gulu University Academic Registrar in an April 4 circular noted that the second-semester examination has been rescheduled to start on April 22 and end on May 7 this year.
Currently, water coverage in primary schools throughout the district stands at 68 percent, with at least seven schools urgently requiring water facilities. For instance, pupils at Alekilek Primary must travel over 5 kilometers away from their school premises to fetch water.
Last year, legislators from the region, under the Karamoja Parliamentary Group, presented a proposal for a free compulsory boarding education policy for all learners. The aim was to
enroll Karamojong children into boarding schools for 15 years, aiming to break the cycle of warriorhood.
Ali Kaggwa Ddamulira, the association’s General Secretary also Deputy Headteacher of St Jude Secondary School Kyabakuza in Masaka City, indicates that many Uganda Certificate of Education-UCE examination centers in private schools may fail to provide the required materials and experiment apparatus for their candidates over affordability challenges.
By the end of 2023, the number of learners registered on the EMIS portal in 30 UPE schools in Luwero and 26 schools in Nakaseke district was fewer than the figures reported to the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Byarugaba reports that despite the Ministry of Education and Sports imposing a ban on holiday teaching programs, some schools are still conducting lessons.
During a recent visit to the school, our reporter observed Tororo Cement Factory erecting a perimeter wall around the premises. Additional improvements such as water facilities and classroom repairs were already completed.
