Katakwi Township primary school is grappling with a dire shortage of classrooms, forcing hundreds of pupils to take lessons under trees.
Located in Katakwi town council, the government-aided school was established in 1979 by a group of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and initially operated with just two classrooms.
In 1986, the government added seven more classrooms, bringing the total to nine. But nearly four decades later, those nine classrooms are proving grossly inadequate. With enrollment now standing at 1,824 pupils of 951 girls and 873 boys, the school needs at least 21 classrooms to accommodate its learners, according to headteacher, Samuel Ogwere.
Currently, primary one has 326 pupils, primary three has 323, and primary four has 397. Ogwere says these classes urgently require nine additional classrooms to split them into three streams each. Primary two and primary five also need to be divided into two streams each.
As a result, pupils in primary three and five continue to study under cashew and mango trees, making learning nearly impossible during rainy weather.
The school’s population has surged in recent years, from 724 pupils in 2022 to 1,094 in 2023, then 1,465 in 2024, and now 1,824. Ogwere attributes the growth to improved academic performance and recent infrastructural upgrades, including the fencing of the school with support from vice president Jessica Alupo.
Alupo, a native of the area, also helped the school acquire five plots of land at Shs 28 million. She later donated 50 bags of cement toward the construction of a new classroom block.
Despite these efforts, the infrastructure gap remains stark. Classes such as P.3 and P.5 continue to be held under cashew and mango trees, with pupils forced to brave rain and cold during bad weather.
During a recent fundraising drive to complete a two-classroom block initiated by the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), the school managed to raise just Shs 1.2 million, far below the Shs 60 million needed to complete the building.
The PTA had earlier raised Shs 19 million, which was used to bring the structure up to beam level. Katakwi Town Council supported the effort with 25 iron sheets, while neighbouring schools contributed an additional 15 bags of cement.
PTA chairperson Charles Joseph Ekume said each parent was asked to contribute Shs 10,000 toward the construction project. But with most parents struggling to make ends meet, progress has been slow.
Meanwhile, the school’s academic record is improving. In 2022, four Primary Seven candidates passed in Division One. The number rose to six in 2023 and eight in 2024—a sign, Ogwere said, that the school is on the right track, if only it could secure enough classrooms for its learners.