Seed schools give hope to poor parents and children in Ankole

The establishment of seed secondary schools in Ankole Sub-region has opened up chances for hundreds of learners to access quality education.

Some children in the sub-region were not able to attain education in several government schools because of distance and fees.

The private secondary schools that would provide an alternative are too expensive for many learners and parents to afford.

Besides reducing the distance for learners to access education, seed schools, on average, charge between Shs120,000 and Shs150,000 as contribution fee per term, which is relatively cheaper compared to private schools.

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This has increased enrolment at the seed schools that were opened in January.

“With the opening of Bukiro Seed Secondary School in Bukiro Town Council, Mbarara District, many learners, who had abandoned school because of long distances and lack of school fees are now back to school. That is why in less than two months, the school got an enrolment of 259 students,” Mr Gabriel Ahimbisibwe, the Mbarara District Education Officer, told Daily Monitor on Monday.

The Bukiro Seed Secondary School head teacher, Ms Maurine Nuwagaba, said since the school opened, they have received a number of students who had abandoned school for the last five years. 

“In just one month, we have a population of 259 students. We would have more than this number but we turned some away because they wanted a boarding section, which we don’t have,” she during the commissioning of the school on March 16.

She added that most parents struggle to provide basic scholastic materials for their children. 

Moses Ayebare, a student at Bukiro Seed Secondary School, said he had given up on going back to school even after scoring an Aggregate 11 in the Primary Leaving Examination in 2018. He said his parents could not afford school fees in the neighbouring private schools.

“This school is near my home and besides, we pay Shs120,000 a term. When my parents realised they could afford it, and I could walk to and from school, they told me to go back to school. I am very happy and I could at least realise my dream of becoming a doctor,” he said.

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Mr Gerald Mbeine, a parent, said he had lost hope of his daughter continuing with education because he could not manage the fees in most private schools around his home.

“Most of the private secondary schools around here charge more than Shs250,000 as school fees per term, which I could not manage but with Shs120,000 [that the school charges], I can’t fail to raise it,” he said.

At Nyakashashara Seed Secondary School in Nyakashashara Sub-county in Kiruhura District, Mr Robert Kamanda, the chairperson of Parents Teachers Association, said before the Covid-19-induced national lockdown in March 2020, the school had only 40 students but since January when it opened, the enrolment has increased to 200 students.“Before the construction of this school, the nearest schools were in Lyantonde District and Rushere Town Council in Kiruhura District, which are about 15km to 20km away, besides being too expensive,” he said during the commissioning of the school on March 17.

The Nyakashashara Seed School head teacher, Mr Yoweri Atwijukire, said the school charges Shs150,000 per term as parents’ contribution.

Ryeru Seed Secondary School in Ryeru Sub-county in Rubirizi District operated as a community seed school since 2016, when it started with 43 students.

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When the government took over in 2019, the school had 148 students but now has 302 students.
St Anthony Seed School in Kyakanda Rwengewe Sub-county in Buhweju District, which was under Mbarara Archdiocese, had 117 students before being taken over and refurbished by government.

The school now has a student population of 309, according to the school head teacher, Mr Innocent Mubangizi.

Challenges
Despite the availability of the schools, they face some challenges that range from staffing shortage, and poor access to other amenities such as water and electricity.

About seed schools

The schools were constructed and equipped at an average cost of Shs2b each, with funding from the World Bank under the Intergovernmental Fiscal, Transfers (UgIFI) programme.

Under the programme, government plans to construct a total of 259 schools in sub-counties without secondary schools.

The construction is being handled in three phases, with the first phase covering 117 schools, the second phase will see 115 schools built, and 27 schools to be built in the third phase.