Joy as pupils of St Paul II  shift from tents to classrooms

It was joy for pupils, teachers and parents of St Paul II Primary School in Katrini Sub-County in Terego District after completion of a new classroom block.

For several years, the pupils had endured the cold and the heat while learning under tents, which had been provided by Unicef to salvage the situation, and trees due to shortage of classrooms.

The high enrolment compounded the problem of shortage of classrooms and devastation by strong wind that blew off the roofs in 2019. The school that started in 1946 with one classroom block, now has enrolment of 1,800 pupils.

Some of the pupils say it has been difficult to study under tents. 

“In the rainy season, we forego lessons because the tents used to flood. And, if it is the dry season, it can be too hot and inconveniencing,” a Primary Five pupil who never wanted to be named said recently. The head teacher of the school, David Andresile, told the Daily Monitor that: “It is  tough to teach under tents and trees given the number of teachers. We have two streams and each has more than 150 pupils. This new block will relieve us for some time as we look for more resources.”

He said in the tents, they are using portable blackboards that are small. 

“In one tent, we have been seating about 200 pupils. We have only 10 classrooms and this is inadequate. We are teaching as if we are teaching nursery pupils,” he said.

The school receives a capitation grant of Shs11m restricted to pay for affiliations, taking scholastic materials for pupils, repairs and co-curricular activities.

The chief executive officer for American Tower Company (ATC) Dorothy Ssemanda, who championed the construction of the block, said: “We aspire to transform lives and providing conducive learning environment is a step towards increasing enrolment, especially retention among the girls and fostering development of future leaders.”  She said there is need to elevate the  education standards with necessary infrastructural development such as classrooms and staff quarters. 

“We spent about Shs300m on  constructing the classroom block so that the pupils are moved to a safe environment, especially for primary Six and Seven. We shall also refurbish the first classroom block which was built in 1946,” she added.

During the handover of the classroom block, Terego Woman MP, Rose Obiga, said: “We have few teachers in Terego who should have been recruited to handle the overwhelming number of pupils in schools and most of our schools still have inadequate classrooms. This   should stop.”

The district chairperson Wilfred Saka, said it is imperative on the parents to support the schools that are financially handicapped to construct more classrooms. 

“This classroom block will enable the pupils who were studying in tents to move to the classrooms. This will enable our children to turn out as well-educated citizens,” he said.  

He cautioned the community and the school not to vandalise the new classroom block so that it can last long to have a positive impact.