Soroti Schools Given 14 Days to Close Illegal Dormitories

Security authorities in Soroti have given all the unlicensed schools 14 days to close all the illegal dormitories on their premises. The tough decision was arrived at following the gruesome murder of Faith Joan Apio, a pupil at Jozan Nursery and Primary School premises on February 5, 2025.

During the investigations, the authorities have learned that most of the schools operating boarding sections in Soroti City and the district don’t have the licenses for the same. Out of 60 private schools in Soroti City, it's only two that are cleared to have mixed day and boarding sections; Soroti Parents and Goshen Nursery and Primary Schools. 

On the government-aided primary schools, only Soroti DEM, Madera Girls, Madera Boys, and Madera School for the Blind are licensed to have boarding sections, according to Patty Emokol, the Principal Education Officer. Emokol says that to establish a boarding section, there are laid-up procedures and requirements for the school to meet before they are allowed to operate a boarding section. This includes the smoke detectors in the school, the fire extinguisher, ample space in the dormitories, good matron and patron who are above 30 years old, clean water, and beddings among others.

He notes that boarding schools are allowed to have two deckers not three as seen in several schools operating boarding sections in the city. Soroti city alone has more than 15 primary schools operating boarding sections with children from baby classes in the dormitories.

In the Soroti district, only Teso Boarding Primary School is cleared to operate a boarding section among the private schools operating in the district, according to Jennifer Ilenyot, the Soroti District Senior Education Officer.

Now, the Soroti Resident City Commissioner, Peter Pex Paak says that all the illegal dormitories will be closed immediately after the lapse of the 14 days which started last Sunday. He says that the security teams have met with all the headteachers and proprietors of schools in the city where the communication was passed.

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Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding, the Deputy Chief of Defense Forces says some of the illegal boarding schools have been turned into slaughter slabs for the children enrolled. According to Gen. Okiding, they have received intelligence about four boarding schools including secondary schools where children have allegedly been used as human sacrifices.

“We are starting with a secondary school where a girl died and was hurriedly buried without the knowledge of security agencies in Soroti on the same week Joan was killed. Be ready and I hope you will collaborate with the security,” he said at the burial of Faith Joan Apio on Monday.

When contacted, some of the affected schools said they had applied for licenses while others had not started any processes to register their schools. At St. Martha Nursery and Primary School located in East Division, Peter Paul Etyang said that they applied for the license to run the boarding section in January 2025. He says that the school has been visited by the education officials and recommendations given to have it registered soon. The school has been operating a boarding section since 2016.

At Soroti Open Nursery and Primary School located in West Division, Simon Edweu, the headteacher of the school said that they applied for the license in 2022. Edweu says that the school has been operating a boarding section since 2017.

At Vineyard Christian School located in Opiyai, Soroti City West Division, the school has started the process of registration of the boarding section after the meeting with security teams. Julius Atanget, the headteacher of the school says that they have had preliminary visits by the education officials where recommendations for the license were made. 

“I have just returned from the education office in the city to follow- up with the registration issues. It’s a work in progress and we’re optimistic that we’ll have the license in due course,” he said on the phone.