The CSOs want the district to produce accountability of 234,969,000 Shillings collected by the schools during registration at the beginning of third term in 2022.
Activists under their umbrella of Civil Society Organizations-
CSOs in Bukedea district have raised concern over the monies levied on Education
Management Information Systems (EMIS) registration.
The CSOs want the district to produce
accountability of 234,969,000 Shillings collected by the schools during
registration at the beginning of third term in 2022.
Information in Bukedea indicates that each child in a
primary school was charged 3,000 Shillings for registration through EMIS. The authorities
claimed that the money was meant for photocopying the EMIS registration forms
and taking passport photographs.
It’s further reported that the district authorities
hired a contractor to carry out the exercise where a total of 78,323 pupils
were entered into the system. But Pius Ekaba, an activist with Action Aid says
that more than 8,000 pupils were not registered as their parents failed to
raise the 3,000 Shillings.
//Cue in “The district council…
Cue out…came about.”//
EMIS is a program introduced by the government to
register all learners in schools by recording particulars of their parents and
other details from the learners. The registration was carried out across the country
under the National Identification Registration Authority- NIRA.
When contacted, Stephen Okurut, the district acting District
Education Officer in Bukedea says that the decision to charge 3,000 Shillings per
child for EMIS registration was a council resolution to enable the smooth running
of the registration exercise.
“This was basically for the smooth running of the
registration exercise and the money was managed in schools," Okurut said
without justifying the cost levied for the exercise.
But Michael Ocan, the Kangole sub county chairperson told
our reporter during an interview that he was not aware of any resolution to charge
parents money for the EMIS registration. Ocan says that he was surprised when
parents stormed his office, demanding explanations for the fees charged for the
registration exercise.
“In my sub
county, parents were charged money differently; some paid 3,000 Shillings and
others were charged 3,500 Shillings and this forced most of the learners to
drop out of school," said Ocan.
Santos
Osekeny, the chairperson of CSOs in Bukedea district says that the money was
illegally imposed on parents since the program was undertaken by the
government.
However, Hajji Imran Muluga, the resident district
commissioner Bukedea said, the officers would be summoned and brought to book.