Gov’t warns against boarding sections in UPE schools 

The commissioner for basic education at the ministry of Education, Dr Daniel Nkaada has discouraged head teachers under universal primary education (UPE) schools from setting up boarding facilities.

Nkaada said such an arrangement would be aimed at charging illegal hefty fees from parents yet government does not sponsor children in primary level for boarding.

“We understand that children trek long distances to schools but we have to bear with that for a time being rather than denying children space for learning with fixing boarding sections,” Nkaada said.

“We strictly want buildings for classroom activities because once boarding sections are introduced, children will be forced to study under trees.”

He added that young children are supposed to be with their parents until such a time when they are old enough to be able to stay away from daily parental guidance.

The commissioner was responding to a joint request submitted by head teachers from nine UPE schools that have been refurbished under the Uganda Teacher and School Effectiveness Project (UTSEP) in Bukwo district. These are; Chekwir, Ndilai, Aryowet, Koikoi, Tuyobei, Kokopchaya, Kapsekek, Muton and Kapchemoken primary schools.

Through Sam Cherotwo, the head teacher Kokopchaya primary school, the head teachers wanted government to give them a green light to utilizing part of the new structures to set up boarding facilities.

“I must thank government for being focused and remembering education deep in Bukwo district. However, most of the children and teachers are delayed to reach school due to the rough, rocky terrain of this area. When it rains, the roads get more slippery for young children,” Cherotwo said raising applause from his colleagues before the request was turned down.

In 2014, government secured a $100 million grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to construct 138 schools in 31 districts with World Bank as the supervising entity.

So far, 54 schools have been handed over in six districts of Arua, Kapchorwa, Bukwo, Isingiro, Ibanda and Alebtong. Construction of 84 other schools is underway and is expected to be finalized by December 2018.

Also the coordinator of the GPE project, Nkaada insisted that all the new structures countrywide will not get boarding facilities despite the fact that they are located in hard-to-reach and stay areas.

“If a school wants a boarding section, that will be a private arrangement agreed upon by the school management committees and the district. Even then, they have to construct new facilities but not to utilise what we have given schools through the grant,” he said.

His views were echoed by the state minister for primary education, Rosemary Seninde, that such an arrangement would fail the UPE programme.

“If we are still challenged with feeding in UPE schools, why do we run into creating boarding sections?” Seninde asked urging parents to provide lunch to learners because “even when we construct classes but with children are not feeding, it will be useless.”

Meanwhile, of the 54 completed schools, Bukwo is the only district that has received nine teachers’ houses. Seninde said without teachers’ accommodation, the new schools in Bukwo would turn into “white elephants” hence children dropping out of school.

At the same event, Seninde commended a one Dinah Chemotos Juma for donating five acres of land on which new structures at Kokopchaya primary school were constructed.

The school was founded in 2007 by the community in an internally displaced persons camp following sporadic cattle rustling that resulted into massive killings in 1960s.

She asked her to write a memorandum of understanding giving away the land as the ministry has had challenges where land is donated but when people pass on, their children demolish schools.

Also appreciated were the contractors; Excel construction limited and Sumadhura Technologies Ltd, for braving the bumpy mountainous landscape of the area to construct the schools.

“We have been sending money in form of school facilitation grants (SFG) to districts but they do shoddy work with cracked new buildings that also collapse in the shortest time,” Seninde said. “We have wasted a lot of money on SFG but this has been lesson to use competent contractors in order not to end up being disappointed.”

nangonzi@observer.ug