Arua City Residents Want Gov't to Take Over Community School

Parents of Ariavu Community Primary School in Odravu-Manibe ward, Arua City have asked the government to support the school to enable it to reopen for learners.

The only primary school in the area has 517 pupils and seven teachers all of whom are volunteers and are paid using contributions from parents. Each parent is required to pay 40,000 Shillings per term for the teachers’ salaries and other school requirements.

The school also sometimes depends on unqualified teachers who are natives of the area and volunteers from the nearby villages who are not paid salaries. Out of the seven teachers, only one resides within the school premises.

Denis Amati one of the parents of the school says the school has been in existence for 20 years but the burden of teachers’ welfare has become too much on the parents and wants the government to take over the school.

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Ambrose Yakania Abiriga, the headteacher of the school who is the only staff on government payroll reveals that by the time schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ariavu community primary school had an enrolment of 517 pupils, but due to the low pay, it is hard to retain teachers.

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Raymond Ombere, Arua City Principal Education Officer says the school authorities should apply for a grant from the government for assistance.  

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Ariavu community primary school has two classroom blocks constructed under NUSAF and Development Response to Displacement Impact Project in 2013.