High school dropout rate in Adjumani refugee settlement raises alarm among stakeholders
Stakeholders in Adjumani’s Boroli Refugee Settlement have raised concern over high school dropout rates, blaming forced marriages, parental negligence, substance abuse and negative peer influence. Y-Global has urged parents and community leaders to strengthen supervision and keep children in school.
A Y-Global official takes stakeholders through a presentation on responsible parenting. (Credit: Robert Adiga)
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ADJUMANI — The rampant school dropout among primary school learners in Boroli Refugee Settlement in Adjumani District has raised concern among education stakeholders and community members.
The concern was raised during a sensitisation dialogue in the settlement that was organised last week by Y-Global, an organisation which focuses on educational parenting roles and responsibilities.
Y-Global's engagement emphasised the importance of parents and guardians taking an active role in guiding their children, monitoring their behaviour, addressing challenges affecting their education and protecting them from harmful practices.
During the dialogue, Steven Nyuma, the headteacher of Boroli Primary School, revealed a devastating rate of school drop-out from the beginning of this year.
Steven Nyuma, headteacher of Boroli Primary School. (Credit: Robert Adiga)
"The dropout rate has been high among refugee learners in Primary 4, 5, 6, and 7. In the first term, we registered 137 in P.4, but only 128 are left. In P.5, a total of 21 learners have dropped out, while in P.6, we have only 53 learners left out of 112 who enrolled in the first term. In P.7, there are 106 pupils left out of 132 learners. But all these children are within the communities,” observed Nyuma.
He noted that forced marriages, parental negligence, drug and substance abuse, coupled with negative peer influence, were some of the factors undermining the academic progress of the learners.
Participants expressed concern that some parents and guardians were not adequately fulfilling their parental responsibilities in monitoring their children's education, by not providing guidance and ensuring regular school attendance.
Emmanuel Tombe, a parent, said it was true that many parents have neglected their responsibilities, which has left many children indulging into bad vices like going to discos.
"I want to thank Y-Global for bringing out parental issues. Parents are largely to be blamed for failing their children. You find children in local markets and video halls during school days," Tombe lamented before he called on authorities to act.
"From the time men went back to South Sudan to look for jobs, children started dropping out of school because they left children with women. But I encourage them to get alternative livelihood sources in order to keep their children in school. For those children refusing to study, we shall arrest them,” warned Mojo.
The sensitisation dialogue provided a platform for community members to reflect on the importance of responsible parenting and the need to create an environment that supports children's education and development.
Participants also underscored the need for collective action involving parents, community leaders, schools and other stakeholders to address the underlying causes of school dropouts.
The meeting called for strengthened parental supervision, community awareness and sustained interventions to protect children from child labour, forced marriages, substance abuse and other practices that jeopardise their education.
Stakeholders further observed that ensuring that children remain in school requires shared responsibility between parents, communities and education stakeholders.