UGANDA; UNCERTANITY LOOMS ON NEEDY LEARNERS AS SCHOOL REOPENING NEARS

‘’The learners with visual impairment, girl child who are now with their husbands, the
parents must send them to report  to classes on January 10, 2022 they way they  whether with rags or clothes they must be taken back to schools and we will receive them the way they are because they did not intend’.

The Principal Education Officer for Gulu City ordered School
Management Committee to arrest teachers who will report late to schools and hand them to police in what he describes as an intended move to utilize the limited time for learners to catch up.  

GULU CITY-UGANDA. Richard Irwenyo,  Gulu City Principal Education Authority is worry that most
pregnant pupils and eloped children will not turn back when the government
finally reopen schools on January 10, 2022.
Over 12,000 pregnant girls are now staying in their new homes; however, school
authorities need them back in classes even with pregnancies or babies.

Eunice Aloyo 14 years old, a primary six at Lukome Lawiya-Adul Primary school,
Gulu City,  has a bleak future as she struggles with visually impaired condition to read.

‘’Once I start reading a book, tears roll down from my eyes, forcing me to leave
reading, and the  moment I forced myself to read, my eyes turn red. But,
before, the lockdown of COVID-19, my eyes was normal.’’ Aloyo recalled.

On Wednesday, December 29, 2021 Hon. Rev. Fr. Charles Onen, called the parents
of Lukome Lawiya-Adul Primary school for community work, more expectant
parents turned out and swept classes, washed the classrooms and cleaned all the
tables including black boards to the dismay of onlookers.

Fr. Onen who called community work as school nears opening says Acholi Sub Region must wake up to revamp education standards in
order to improve quality education, insisting that the COVID-19 has opened our eyes.
When the lockdown was announced by president Museveni on March, 18, 2020; all
private primary and secondary schools in the Central Region closed their doors to all
students and pupils sending all students to the Bus park terminals.

‘’What I have witnessed, the suffering our children faced when the lockdown was
announced by President Museveni, it was a nightmare, transport fairs were hiked
from the usual fees of UGX 25,00 to UGX 70,000.

At the wake of the lockdown announcement by the President, hundreds and
thousands of pupils from all over converged at the bus terminals spending days
and nights not maintaining the SOPs and making the further spread of COVID 19
INEVITABLE. Many contracted the virus from there and came home with the virus
infected their family.

And yet parents had just paid school fees and they did not have even extra money
to transport their children back to Northern Uganda. We as Members of
Parliament from Northern Uganda we have to hired buses to transport the
stranded schools pupils.’’ We have to re-organize our parents, and this has been part of my
job to make sure that unity must be with us and the community.

Fr. Onen, appeals to parents of Lawiya-Adul to use the school which near them that instead of taking your children to Police Primary school distance away
schools in Gulu City, passing this very school near your home, while others take
their children to Kampala schools, here we are preparing for the beginning of
better education learning situation.

Mr. Richard Erwenyo, the Principal Education Officer for Gulu City, exonerates
Hon. Fr. Onen and the community of Lukome Primary School for being the first people to
calls for community work mobilization as government preparing to reopen
education after two years of lockdown.

Adding that two years, there has no education in the country, our pupils suffered,
most of the boys and girls has grown big there will be five categories of pupils
who will be reporting back to schools.

Those pupils who have baldhead, other with long bear, some with babies behind
them, the pupils are revenants and others who are smoking weeds expect to
welcome them as your pupils.

‘’Today during my inspection of school and classrooms, I have found out that the
reading materials including text books, table and desks has been eaten by
Termites I warn you the school management Committee and parents you must
send all your pupils to come to school, on reporting day, on January 10,2022 the
classes will begin. Teachers will enroll all pupils. There will be automatic
promotion to the next classes. For those pupils who are absent they will miss the
opportunity for automatic promotion.’’ Be warned.

Mr. Erwenyo, appeals to parents who their son has eloped with their fellow
pupils, sent them all to report to schools, let both come to class. What I witnessed
during Christmas, I dropped around Gulu City at night. I saw all sort of
madness our boys and daughter display.
‘’Others were having oral sex, kissing one another while some of them were busy
drinking smoking weeds, you teachers prepare and register all of them, be ready
to accommodate them, those are your learners.’’ The Principal Education
Authority lamented.
Let the teacher begin to prepare a scheme of work and lesson plan, I told you, this
public school, your role is to take care, he warns.

Mr. Erwenyo ordered parents and the School Management Committee to arrest
teachers who report late to school and hand them to his office for administrative
measure; we shall in turn hand over those late teachers to the police.

Evelyn  Achola, the Headmistress accused parents for vandalism, this parents you
see them siting here, they are the one who break in the padlock of our toilet and
they have turned out school toilet to become their own.

Ms. Evelyn Achola acknowledged indeed school text books for home based learning has
been eaten by termites, because there no place to keep them, since there no
story to keep them.

She disclosed that although, the school is going to be open soon, three of her
teachers are facing health related problems, her Deputy Head teacher has mental
illness, one teacher whose child is admitted to Mulago cancer institute and one
teacher involved in a road accident.

She appeals to government to construct more staff accommodation, says even
head teacher not stay in Omoro district, while commuting to the school.
‘’As we talk now, there are only two staff room that is accommodating only two
teacher, the rest of us were renting outside the school.’’

Division mayor advices parent on school development

The Division Mayor for Laoo-Pace Mr. Geoffrey Otim, the Mayor for Laroo-Pece City Division advises parents to guard
against development, what lesson can we learned, we are told that you the parents have blocked the fencing of school, and refuse to give land for construction of the school latrine

‘’over 500 pupils that their education will be disrupted, because of broken
bridges, we are going to make sure that all broken bridges are constructed to allow
your children access school.

He disclosed that his office has bought printing press that soon his office will start printing exams; all examinations will be printed from Gulu City, even pre examination
papers we shall produce for all our learners.

The COVID-19 scholastic home-based learning material left an attended by the Headmaster of Lukome Lawiya-Adul primary school 2000 books was eaten by termites; this was discovered yesterday during community work to clean school ahead of reopen

‘’We have all what it take to allow our students excel in examination, this
question that schools from the Central Region can do better than schools from
Northern Uganda, we are not going to accept that. In 1980s all students from
Central and Western Uganda had come to pursue better education here, why
now.’’ Otim echoed.

The education Principal Officer says 26,000 pupils got pregnant during the COVID-
19 lockdown lone, in Acholi Sub Region 0ver 20,000 expectancy girls child
according report from various schools educations, however, 130,000 teachers
within Gulu City Authority they have received training on preparation of School
curriculum syllabus on automatic rapid promotion.

However, education Officer Nelson Ayo claimed that over 90,000 girls under 18 years have got pregnant during this period were not going to school.

Prossy Akello 17 year old has doom future, from prying pan to fire, a student of Senior Three from Kiryandongo district, her first problem she now has a daughter one year and three month, now her husband is a victim of HIV

Prossy Akello 17 years old, was in Senior Three, Village of Hope in Kiryandongo District, now moving in Gulu City carry a baby girl on her back,  says although she need to go back to school, but there is no way because her husband Kidega Denis the father of child is a sick man.

‘’Even if I want to go back to school, there is no hope, as you see I am carrying Joyce Agenorwot who is one three months old, the father is suffering from an unknown disease. There is no other means even if I have an idea to go back to school.

Akello narrative is that, she has lost both parents, her father called Ojara Francis and her mother Grace Ayaa died sometime back

Peter Odur, one of the parent says is ready to send his pupils to report to school
on the day of reopening school.

‘’For me on the day school is going to open I will bring my kids to school, we have
suffered with children, now we are going to be okay.’’ Odur responded.

Ms. Evelyn Akello, the mother of impair eyes pupils, says although as parent, she
has money to pay for her daughter, but she does not know if her kid will go
back to normal.

‘’I have money and we are ready to pay school fees, but now our problem, is she
face eyes illness, where were going to get for a reading material, we have
financial constrain.’’ Akello decries.

According to information obtained from the ministry of education, report indicates that there more than half (52.6%) of the pupils with disabilities are males, out of 1,370,583 students enrolled in a secondary school in Uganda, 8,945 students (0.6%) have special learning needs. Visually impaired students comprise the largest share of students; Gulu City has 116 compared
pupils with eye impairment in Gulu City alone there also 41 primary public schools, and 76 private primary schools.
For how long, shall the parents in Acholi Sub Region keep lamenting about poor
education performance, this still remains a nightmare.

Mr. Jackson  Lakor Gulu District Production Officer when contacted by our reporters he is
of the view that for him he will not take his students to Kampala, because he does
not have money, and whether lockdown will not be extended still remains a
question.

‘’I doubt if am going to take my kids to Kampala, the issue of money still a big
issues, and we don’t know if the lockdown will still be extended, COVID-19 still
remain our problems, am one of the many parents who do not have hope.’’

Mungu Brian, the former National Unity Platform, for Gulu West MP, ministry of
education should not play with the future of our children, President Museveni has
open schools in other countries, like Tanzania, and Rwanda, the countries which
has open their door for education despite that fact COVID-19 lockdown was in
placed in those countries, but those countries allow their pupils to be educated,
yet here at home, be block education not to be reopened.

‘’Ministry of education should act independently and leave playing politics with
service the future generation; you cannot mix politics with services. And tougher
we focus on the academic future of this generation, they used to say education is
the key to success, but Mr. Museveni has since changed the key success partner
education is no longer a key to success.’’ Mungu lamented

Okello John, who talk to our news sources, attributed failure to opening schools, as chart down to crippling Uganda system of education, especially the young population which seem to be one of the vibrant,

”After dismantle education, first was economic which was done away with, now what next’’