Pupils rough up LC1 chief

The local leader says the children did not want to go to school but do fishing in Lake Kyoga.

Children in Amolator District beat up the LC1 chairperson of Namasale Town Council on Monday as he attempted to question their failure to attend school.

Mr Patrick Otile said irate children at a video hall assaulted him for ‘inconveniencing’ them.

“These crazy children ganged up against me on Monday morning, pelted stones at me and beat me because I was trying to tell them to go to school,” Mr Otile said in an interview on Tuesday.

However, he said he had not filed a case against them because they did not know what they were doing.

“Children start engaging in fishing when they are still very young and when they start earning some good money, they ignore education,” Mr Otile said.

He appealed to local authorities to introduce by-laws to restrict children from the activity.

“We have been arresting and canning children who do not go to school, but parents think we are bad people,” Mr Otile said.

Statistics indicate that more than 100 pupils have dropped out of school in Namasale this term alone to engage in fishing on Lake Kyoga.

Two children told the Daily Monitor that they were not in school because they had nobody to pay their fees, adding that their parents had died of HIV/Aids.
Mr Opok said parents should be sensitised about income-generating activities to raise enough money to educate their children.
The area Town Clerk, Mr Peter Alani, however, said the council has a programme to sensitise the community about the influence of education.

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