PLE candidates excited to use desks for the first time
Exams. Buwidi Primary School P7 candidates sit for a test ahead of their final Primary Leaving Examinations. The World Bank says one can only attain 100 per cent of their potential if they enjoy complete education. Photo by Ronald Sebe
What you need to know:
Privilege. At Buwidi Primary School in Namutumba District, desks are only reserved for Primary Seven candidates, after which they are kept in a room under lock
NAMUTUMBA. As Primary Seven candidates prepare to sit for their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) next month, it will be a unique moment for pupils of Buwidi Primary School in Namutumba District to sit on desks.
Sitting on desks in this government-aided school is a privilege reserved for only Primary Seven candidates. The pupils in other classes either sit on polythen bags or on bricks for all the six years they are in the same school.
“The school with 547 pupils only has 63 desks which are reserved for Primary Seven candidates to sit on during tests and their final exams,” Mr Nathan Isiko, the chairperson of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), said on Monday.
He added: “After their tests and exams, we lock them up in a room and keep for the next sitting candidates; but pupils study from Primary One to Primary Seven while sitting on polythene bags or bricks.”
He said they were given 100 desks but because of age, many got broken and were left with 63 which have served since 1989.
The school was constructed on January 25, 1982 and commissioned on November 25, 2000 by the late Basoga Nsadhu, the first Busiki County MP who was also the Minister for Information.
However, since then, it has never had an office and signpost, making it difficult to locate.
The district chairperson, Hajj Saleh Kumbuga, conceded that the school is in a sorry state, adding that efforts to construct a two-classroom block are underway.
The District Education Officer (DEO), Mr Isiko Mohammad, said the school is under the education work plan for the Financial Year 2018/2019.
Other challenges
Mr Isiko said the school is adversely affected by the lack of a safe water source from where the pupils and staff can draw water.
“The years the school has been in existence are the same as those it has stayed without a borehole. Our pupils fetch water from swamps, exposing them to waterborne diseases,” he said.
Mr Simon Dhawot, the chairperson of the school management committee, faulted government for not playing its role to upgrade the standards of schools under the Universal Primary Education (UPE).
The head teacher, Mr Emmanuel Muwanika, while expressing the sorry state of the school, appealed to parents to support the learning institution while government plays its role.
Mr Peter Mukama, a parent from Izilangobi, explained that as parents, they are packing food for their children but government is discouraging them.
