Schools in west register low turnout of learners

As schools enter the third week of the first term of the 2023 academic year, some government schools in hard-to-reach areas in western Uganda are struggling to get high enrolment of learners.
Some of the schools are located in mountainous areas, with poor road networks, while others are in flood-prone areas.
At Ibaale Secondary School in Fort Portal City, the school had recorded 73 students by Monday from Senior One to Senior Four.
The school head teacher, Mr Stephen Katonoga Mugumya, said they had 156 students, including four senior candidates, last year.

“We have so received 15 students in Senior One. The enrolment is still low, we are still doing mobilisation with parents, but the challenge is that our school is on an island surrounded by swamps and parents find it hard to bring their children,” he said.
Mr Mugumya added that the school was established in 1982 under the Church of Uganda. It was later taken over by the government in 1983.
He further said he was posted to the school in 2018, when it had an enrolment of 48 students. The school has 18 teachers of which 14 are on the government payroll.
Mr Mugumya said the biggest challenge is the poor road network connecting to the school from Fort Portal-Kamwenge Road, which is about 2.5 kilometers.
He said the road is impassable during the rainy season.
The school is running a boarding section. They also have a lighting system powered by solar, which supports 20 computers, and a fully-equipped science laboratory.

Kasese
At Kenyange Muslim Primary School in Kasese District, by the end of the third term, the school had only five pupils, but the number has increased to 150.
The head teacher, Ms Hadijja Hussein Muhindo, said five teachers were posted at the school last week.
“I found five pupils, but now the number has increased to 150 pupils, five pupils are in Primary Seven,” she said.
Ms Muhindo added that they have introduced a package of feeding pupils with break tea so that they attract more learners to the school.
“On Friday, they are scheduling parents’ meetings to discuss the way forward,” she said.

Ntoroko
In Ntoroko District, some of the schools, which were submerged by floods in 2019, were relocated to internally-displaced camps, but up to now, they are still registering a low enrollment.
The affected schools include Rwagara, Umoja, Kachwakumu, and Kamuga in Kanara Sub0-county.