Pupils drop books to catch fish

Leaders appeal for urgent government intervention or illiteracy will reign.

At least 2,000 children of school going age in Bukatube Sub-county in Mayuge District are destined for a life of illiteracy unless urgent action is taken to construct and equip schools in the district, officials have said.
Bukatuube is a hard-to-reach area with a population of about 4,000 people.
The area has one private school that lacks permanent structures or qualified teachers.

The school, which was started last year, has five teachers who confessed to be Senior Four dropouts. Nobra Primary School, which is located on the shores of Lake Victoria, has one ramshackled structure housing 250 pupils. The school also lacks a toilet.

Clad in a T-Shirt and a pair of old sandals, the headmaster, Mr David Bakaki, admitted some of his teachers and pupils use the bushes for convenience since the area also does not have any public toilet.

Call for action
The sub-county chairperson, Mr William Otube, said children have to pass through a forest to access the government-aided primary school. The school, like the private-owned one, also lacks good structures and qualified staff.

He appealed to government to either construct a new school or support the existing ones to stop bringing up a population of illiterate fishermen.
Authorities say more than 2,000 children are engaged in fishing on the six landing sites.