Needy school grapples with fund shortage
Pupils at Bushenyi Primary School with their teacher. PHOTO BY ZADOCK AMANYISA
BUSHENYI- Bushenyi Primary School in Ruhandagazi in Central Division, Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, is facing a multitude of problems.
According to the head teacher, Ms Lukia Nakalisa, the school, a learning centre for children with disabilities, receives inadequate financial support from the government, forcing the administrators to rely on well-wishers.
Ms Nakalisa told Sunday Monitor that the school receives Shs600,000 a term which cannot cater for pupils’ welfare.
The school has 89 pupils, 43 of whom have disabilities such as hearing and visual impairments, mental challenges and psycho-social handicap.
There is also shortage of teachers, water, scholastic materials for pupils with disabilities, equipment such as wheelchairs and special attendants, among others.
Ms Nakalisa said some teachers were posted to the school but did not report for work because of the poor conditions at the learning centre.
“Out of 11 teachers at the school, only two are trained to handle the pupils with special needs,” she said.
Ms Nakalisa said academic performance at the school is very poor.
“Last year (2014) results were not good. The best candidate had aggregate 18, the rest failed,” she added.
Mr Ronald Mugisha, who handles blind pupils, said: “I tackle a small part of the syllabus because we don’t have brail textbooks and special syllabus package for the blind pupils.”
Ms Darlenes Agaba, a Primary Five class teacher, said some parents and guardians abandon children with disabilities at the school’s gate.
“It becomes quite a challenging task for us to pick these children in their state and house them here without even knowing their origin. All that responsibility is on us. The government, especially the district administration, should think about the school because they understand what is happening here,” said Ms Agaba.
She added that sometimes they run out of chalk.
Mr Almet Gabriel, the coordinator of the school, acknowledged that it lacks an ideal learning environment.
“I don’t think these children will be helped enough if government doesn’t step in,” he said.
The school has spent at least two and a half years without a management committee, which has compounded the dire situation.
Mr Lawrence Baryaruha, the former school management committee chairman, said parents are partly responsible for the school’s problems.
He blamed them for expecting government to provide everything needed for their children, adding that they have refused to provide anything for their children.
However, the Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipal education officer, Mr Dan Mugyenyi, said the conditions at the school had been worsened by poor leadership.
“The government has tried to do its work. The leadership of the school has failed to direct it to the right way,” he said.
Mr Mugyenyi said they were making efforts to help the school, adding that they have contacted well- wishers such as rotary clubs for support.
