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How Tirinyi Sub-county is tackling high illiteracy

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A school being established to address illiteracy levels in Kalampete, Tirinyi Sub-county. PHOTO/ MUDANGHA
KOLYANGHA

In the heart of Kibuku District, one of Uganda’s most underserved areas, lies a sub-county struggling with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the district. For decades, this rural community in Tirinyi Sub-county has faced challenges in accessing quality education, but a growing wave of determination is pushing back against the educational crisis.

A committed group of local leaders, educators, and NGOs is slowly transforming the landscape of learning despite limited resources.

For years, children in this sub-county [Tirinyi] have walked long distances to overcrowded schools with limited facilities. Ms Fazila Mugala says many children have dropped out early due to the lack of nearby schools and the financial strain placed on families.

“The entire rural area has no single school or health facility, but instead is compounded with high consumption of alcohol. This has instead pushed high poverty and illiteracy levels,” she says, adding, “The entire area has only two students in A-Level. This shows the general picture that most of the children are at home.”

Education was often seen as a luxury, with children expected to help at home or in the fields rather than sit in classrooms.

“As a result, illiteracy rates soared, stalling the development of the community,” he says.

Assessment of Illiteracy Levels
However, a shift began to take shape after local leaders, alongside NGOs, recognised the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty.

The executive director of Buyelya Heartland Grace Point Ministries, Mr. David Dagira, indicates that from the assessment conducted, the illiteracy levels and poverty are extremely high.

“The community is extremely lazy but is actively looking for what to eat and drink. There is too much consumption of alcohol and drug abuse,” Mr. Dagira says, adding, “The high consumption of alcohol and opium has increased the crime rate. But our organisation has taken some of these children from these parents for counselling.”

He says parents have suffered mental disorders because of excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol.

“We are carrying out mental health awareness and counselling both in communities and schools,” Mr. Dagira explains, adding that the organisation has gone ahead to train leaders, the church, elders, youth, and women so that they understand God spiritually.

“The discipline through spiritual morals helps to compel children to behave well and reduce the effects of drugs and alcoholism. The knowledge acquired will help to be ambassadors of spiritual healing within the communities and mobilisers of members for development,” he explains.

With funding from brothers and sisters from the US, the NGO plans to construct a school to address the education gaps.

Interventions and Situation
In Tirinyi Sub-county, a battle against high illiteracy rates is gaining momentum, thanks to the combined efforts of an NGO and determined community leaders. For years, the sub-county has struggled with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the district, with limited access to education.

Buyelya Heartland Grace Point Ministries teamed up with local leaders to bring about lasting change after their assessment of the education situation in the sub-county and identified the dire need for intervention.

With an illiteracy rate surpassing 70 percent, many children were being left behind, unable to read and write by the time they reached adulthood.

It is not only children that were affected, but also many adults who had missed out on education earlier in life, finding themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty without the skills to improve their livelihoods.

“We have designed a multi-faceted approach that focuses on improving access to education for young children and providing adult literacy programmes to help break the cycle of illiteracy,” Mr Dagira explains.

“Many children were unable to attend school due to distance, poverty, or the need to help their families with chores. To address this, we plan to build a school in underserved areas, making schools more accessible to children who live far away.”

Mr. Dagira also works to change attitudes towards education within the community. Through sensitisation campaigns, they engage local leaders, elders, and parents to emphasise the importance of education.

“The message is clear. Education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and no child should be left behind. This approach is bearing fruit as more children are attending school, and those who had dropped out are returning to school,” he explains.

He says this will improve and reduce the sub-county’s illiteracy rates. With his organisation, Dagira hopes to create a self-sustaining education system in the sub-county that can continue to thrive without external aid.

“This will include empowering local leaders and community ownership of the education initiatives and ensuring that improvements made are lasting. We are just at the beginning of this journey,” Mr Dagira emphasises.

He encourages parents to see the value of literacy as a tool for improving the future of their children, and community leaders serve as role models, emphasising the importance of education.

Mr. James Katama, one of the elders, says the sub-county has a silent crisis which has been unfolding. Katama says the rural area has struggled with high illiteracy rates, but the situation has reached a breaking point.

“The illiteracy rates in the rural area have spiked dramatically, leaving the sub-county in an educational emergency,” Mr Katama explains.

“What was once a gradual concern has now become a full-blown crisis. The gap between school enrollment and completion is widening,” he says, adding that the area has only two graduates working, and these are primary school teachers.

The nearby school [Kalampete Primary School], which is approximately six kilometres away, is overwhelmed, with classrooms packed beyond capacity, and a shortage of trained teachers only exacerbates the situation.

Whereas the government and various stakeholders have made efforts to address the issue, these efforts are insufficient to curb the rising tide of illiteracy in the area.

“The long distance to the nearest schools and abject poverty prevent children from accessing basic education,” he says. “Education is a dream that many children in rural areas cannot afford. For years, the community has been stuck in a cycle of poor educational outcomes.”

Whereas there have been some attempts to address the issues, such as the construction of new schools in the area, there have not been enough solutions to curb the scale of the problem.

The LC I chairman, Mr Sedulaki Tambaki, and his counterpart, Mr Simon Kobele [LC II], say the three villages of Kalampete, Buyelya, and Bukomolo have no school.

Mr Charles Namba, the district councillor representing Tirinyi Sub-county, says the negative perception of parents in the area remains a big challenge towards education.

“Most of the parents have failed to perform their obligations. This has increased school dropouts, thus scaling up illiteracy levels in the area,” Mr Namba says.

The secretary for health and education, Mr Augustine Moleka Majanga, blames the high poverty and ignorance of the community towards education and the need to change the mindset of parents.

Meanwhile, the district education officer, Mr Christopher Wamika, says that much as the literacy rate in the district stands at 52 percent, this implies that 48 percent falls under illiteracy levels.

He blames it on early marriages, teenage pregnancies, and child labour, which have fuelled dropout rates.

The most affected sub-counties are Tirinyi Sub-county, Kasasira, Kabweri, and Tirinyi Town Council.