Concern over schools with no  PLE first grade in last 5 years

Several schools in Oyam and Ibanda districts have not had a single first grade in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) for the last five years, according to statistics.

Information obtained by Monitor indicates that Lela Olok, Ogaro, Lelapala, Aleka, Anget and Bar-romo, all government-sponsored schools, in Aleka Sub-county, Oyam District, have not posted any first grades 
In Ibanda, Mr Pancrasio Ninyesiga, the head teacher of Mushunga Primary School in Ishongororo Town Council, explains that the school has been performing poorly for the last four years.
A total of 30 candidates registered for PLE in 2023  at the school but no candidate scored a first grade.

“We have no candidate in Division One, nine pupils passed in Division Two, 14 in Division Three, three pupils in Division Four, three were not graded and one student did not show up during exams,” Mr Ninyesiga said.
The automatic promotion policy, parents’ negative attitude, teachers’ laxity, inadequate textbooks and desks, shortage of teachers’ accommodation and  lack of parents’ involvement and conflicts between teachers and parents have been blamed for the poor academic performance. 

For instance, last year, 68 candidates registered for PLE at Lelapala Primary School, a public school situated east of the kindergarten Riverside Nursery School and Otwal Railway Station.
Mr Joel Peter Onyutha, the school head teacher, said of the 68 registered candidates, two did not show up for exams. 

“When we tried to follow up, we found that the female candidate was already pregnant. The other one was a boy, but we failed to trace his whereabouts,” Mr Onyutha said. 
They form part of over 12,000 candidates that snubbed PLE last year countrywide, according to the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Of the 66 candidates that sat PLE in 2023 at Lelapala, none of them managed to score first grade, while 19 passed in second grade.

The head teacher said the major challenges facing children’s learning at Lelapala include; parents’ negative attitude, lack of teachers’ accommodation and pupils’ lack of interest in education.  This school with a staff sealing of 18 teachers, currently has 16 teachers on government payroll and all of them do not sleep at the school because of lack of accommodation.

“Our major challenge is that children do not have interest in education. During the rainy season, the majority stay home to help their parents in the gardens,” Mr Onyutha added.
“Parents do not provide their children with essential scholastic materials such as books and pens, and when we give pupils homework, they don’t do it. They return it untouched,” he explained.

Widespread issue
Mr Robert Odyek, the head teacher of Ogaro Primary School, said the challenges affecting education in rural areas cut across the entire Oyam District. There are 109 government-aided primary schools in the district.
Mr Odyek said since its existence, Ogaro Primary School only managed to get one first grade some 30 years ago, according to data available in his office.
“We have been performing poorly academically because parents do not own the school. We work hard to prepare our PLE candidates well, they always transfer them to private schools, where they score first or second grade,” Mr Odyek added.
The situation is the same at Aleka Primary School. Mr Dickens Ocere, one of the teachers at the school, said for the last five consecutive years, no pupil has scored first grade. Last year, six learners managed second grade, with the best scoring Aggregate 16 out of 29 candidates that sat PLE. In 2022, the best child scored Aggregate13.  
Just like Aleka, Lela Olok Primary School situated nearby Acet Central Forest Reserve in Iceme Sub-county has been doing badly in academic performance. For instance, more than 40 candidates that sat PLE there in 2022 passed in Division U.

The former head teacher, Nicholas Okello, said: “I stayed there for one year but I don’t remember the year that school got first grade.”
Mr Benson Odongo, the chairperson of Abella Parish in Aleka Sub-county, said Abella Primary School did not get first grade in PLE last year because of lack of cooperation between parents, teachers and the learners.

Mr David Adea, Oyam senior education officer, also acting District Education Officer (DEO) of Oyam, declined to comment on the poor academic performance in the area but instead referred this publication to his senior, DEO Francis Oleke Ocero, who was said to be on leave.

Not all is lost. In a bid to improve academic performance in Oyam, community learning centres established in the area during the Covid-19 lockdown have continued offering educational opportunities to learners during school holidays.

At least 12 community learning centres were established in Loro and Iceme Sub-counties by the community with support from Foundation for Inclusive Community Help (FICH), an NGO, to support the continuing of the learning of children during Covid-19 lockdown.

The centres have benefited children in lower primary – from Primary One to Primary Three, in the age bracket of 6-12 years, FICH’s executive director, Mr Emmy Zoomlamai Okello, confirmed on Friday.