Two candidates to sit PLE in govt school as others drop out

Only two candidates are set to sit for their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) starting on Wednesday at St Bernard Mwenge Primary School in Tororo District after 25 others dropped out.

The government-aided school, with an enrolment of 368 pupils and eight teachers on payroll, registering only two candidates to sit for PLE has attracted mixed reactions.

The two candidates are Thomas Okello and Raymond Odongo, who are part of pupils that sat for the 2022 Primary Seven pre-entry examination in the same school.

Mr Francis Olowo, the Primary Seven teacher, said during the first term, the duo wanted to relocate to the nearby school but the administration encouraged them to stay.

“About 27 pupils sat for their Primary Seven pre-entry examination in 2022 and were promoted to Primary Seven but they never reported and they could not be traced. We suspect they dropped out of school,” Mr Olowo said.

He said on some occasions, both pupils fail to report to school.  “Despite challenges, we have managed to finish the syllabus and we hope they will bring success in the exams,” he said.

The head teacher, Mr Charles Owori Makimateki, attributed the problem to poor attitude of the parents towards education of their children.

“Imagine, we as teachers made efforts, including visiting the homes of our former pupils, telling them to come back to school but they failed,” he said.

The local leaders are demanding an investigation to establish why one of the traditional primary schools in the area registered only two candidates.

“Launching an investigation would give a lead to finding a solution to raise the enrolment and also boost learner retention in school,” Mr Andrew Okoth, the district councillor for Soni Sub-county,  said.

Residents speak out

Mr John Opio, a resident, however, said absenteeism of teachers is one of the reasons pupils drop out of school.

“Our children go to school but they always come back when they have not studied on some days because of absenteeism from teachers,” he said.

Machika Foundation chief executive officer Richard Owere Machika, who donated  scholastic materials that included Mathematical sets, ball points and pencils to the two candidates and other schools, said school dropout is still a big challenge in the district.

“We need collective effort to combat school dropout rate; otherwise, the gains we made before Covid-19 are being reversed,” he said.

The district education officer, Mr Albert Odoi, said:  “Whereas all the arrows are pointing at the teachers, parents and local leaders also have a portion of blame because they are the ones who stay with the children at home,” he said.

He said as an education directorate, they don’t have the powers to go and force parents to bring in their children to school.

Trend

Other schools with few candidates include Nabanja Primary School in Soni Sub-county, with three and Nyasirenge Primary School in Paya Sub-county that has only four.