Prime
Storm-hit schools remain in ruins as Second Term starts
Pupils of Uganda Martyrs’ Primary School in Kantinti Parish, Mpigi District, stand next to a de-roofed classroom block on April 18. PHOTOS | BRIAN ADAMS KESIIME
What you need to know:
- Classrooms, gardens and teachers’ houses at the school were destroyed on April 18 and two children died .
- However, no relief assistance from either government or humanitarian agencies has been delivered to the affected area to date.
Staff and pupils of Uganda Martyrs’ Primary School, Kitakyuusa in Kantini Parish, Kituntu Sub-county, Mpigi District, are stuck after a storm destroyed structures a month ago.
Classrooms, gardens and teachers’ houses at the school were destroyed on April 18 and two children died .
However, no relief assistance from either government or humanitarian agencies has been delivered to the affected area to date.
According to Ms Jane Frances Nakijjoba, the chairperson of the school management committee, they might not open for Second Term because all classrooms are still in ruins.
“ We are now puzzled and don’t know what next,” she said last Friday.
Ms Swabula Nagayi, a Primary Seven candidate at the school, is worried that she may not perform well in her final exams if she misses lessons in the new term.
“Our teachers have nowhere to sleep and we are not sure whether the new term will begin as scheduled,” she said.
Teachers inspect one of the de-roofed classrooms at Uganda Martyrs’ Primary School in Mpigi District.
The situation is not different at private schools, which were also hit by the storm like St Andrew Kaggwa Primary School and Bright Angels Primary School – both in Kitakyuusa Village.
Mr Richard Mayanja, a member of the management committee of St Andrew Kaggwa Primary School, said they need money to buy iron sheets.
“Apart from the classrooms, other structures like latrines were also affected. We are now looking for more than Shs50 million to fix the damages,” Mr Mayanja said.
Mr Godfrey Naliima, the chairperson of Kituntu Sub-county, has sought relief assistance from relevant authorities.
“We ask the government to provide the affected schools with tents or tarpaulins so that the affected learners can begin lessons as the buildings are being worked on,” he said.
The Mpigi District Chairperson, Mr Martin Sejjemba, said they are working tirelessly to set up temporary classrooms for all the affected schools .
“Our target is to ensure all the learners have where to study from in the first week of the new term,” he said.
At least 400 households in 12 villages in Kituntu Sub-county were displaced after the April 18 storm. More than 30 residents suffered varying degrees of injuries. Many of those whose houses got destroyed are being housed by neighbours.
