Education
Kakumiro local leaders urged to enact bylaws to address school dropouts
The concerns came out during a meeting of school headteachers and local leaders to review the “stay in school project”, which is seeking to address school dropouts in Nyalweyo town council and Narweyo sub-county in Kakumiro district.
Head teachers pose for a group photo with officials from NASECO Seed Company following a meeting. (Photo by Abaanabasazi)
By: Peter Abaanabasazi, Journalist @New Vision
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Educationists in Kakumiro district are worried over the increasing number of children dropping out of school and called on leaders to enact bylaws to address the burden.
Nsamba Kizito, the Kakumiro district inspector of schools, said the district is struggling with the burden of school dropouts, which currently stands at 30%.
According to data from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) and the Education and Sports Sector Annual Performance Report of 2024 (ESSAPR 2024), more than 40 percent or almost 43 out of every 100 pupils in Uganda drop out before finishing Primary Seven, and 30 percent of secondary school children drop out before completing their education.
Kizito cited early marriages, early pregnancies, and child labour as some of the factors affecting the drop out young boys and girls from school.
Nsamba Kizito, the Kakumiro Inspector of Schools, addresses head teachers during a meeting. (Photo by Abaanabasazi)
He said there is need to engage parents to address the issue, adding that parents are contributing to school dropouts when they fail to carry out their parental responsibility.
“When parents neglect their responsibility of providing necessities to the children such as scholastic materials and lunch, among others, learners especially girls get other people to provide for them and in turn, they get pregnant and married at an early age, while the boys resort to child labour and start working in plantations, selling eggs, scrap, tomatoes and popcorns,” Kizito noted.
He observed that other parents refuse to send their children to schools and keep them at home to help with domestic work and in gardens.
He, therefore, called on local leaders to initiate a programme of engaging parents to take on their responsibility and make them understand the importance of educating their children.
Jongo Byakagaba, the headteacher Buruuko government primary school, said the challenge of school dropouts is serious with government-aided schools, adding that it calls for concerted efforts from different education stakeholders to address the issue.
He blamed parents for contributing to school dropouts and underscored the need for leaders to enact bylaws that compel parents to take children to school and provide them with necessities.
“Years ago, a parent who would keep his or her child at home would get arrested by Local Defense Personnel, but nowadays because of politics, leaders focus on votes and do not want to guide the community fearing that their support will get affected, and this challenge has caused laxity among parents since they know that even if they keep their children home, nothing would happen,” he said.
He added that apart from dropouts, schools are struggling with the challenge of absenteeism, which is always serious during the planting season.
The concerns came out during a meeting of school headteachers and local leaders to review the “stay in school project”, which is seeking to address school dropouts in Nyalweyo town council and Narweyo sub-county in Kakumiro district.
He observed that other parents refuse to send their children to schools and keep them at home to help with domestic work and in gardens.
He, therefore, called on local leaders to initiate a programme of engaging parents to take on their responsibility and make them understand the importance of educating their children.
Jongo Byakagaba, the headteacher Buruuko government primary school, said the challenge of school dropouts is serious with government-aided schools, adding that it calls for concerted efforts from different education stakeholders to address the issue.
He blamed parents for contributing to school dropouts and underscored the need for leaders to enact bylaws that compel parents to take children to school and provide them with necessities.
“Years ago, a parent who would keep his or her child at home would get arrested by Local Defense Personnel, but nowadays because of politics, leaders focus on votes and do not want to guide the community fearing that their support will get affected, and this challenge has caused laxity among parents since they know that even if they keep their children home, nothing would happen,” he said.
He added that apart from dropouts, schools are struggling with the challenge of absenteeism, which is always serious during the planting season.
The concerns came out during a meeting of school headteachers and local leaders to review the “stay in school project”, which is seeking to address school dropouts in Nyalweyo town council and Narweyo sub-county in Kakumiro district.
The project is being funded by NASECO Seed Company in 11 schools, both government and private.
Tom Katwesige, the Nyalweyo sub-county chairperson, commended NASECO for partnering with the Government to foster development, especially in the education and agriculture sectors.
Katwesige noted that parents still have a poor mindset towards education and that there is a need to have a mindset change campaign to address the problem of school dropouts.
“We are planning to organise sensitisation meetings for both local leaders and parents. During the meeting, we will remind the local leaders, especially LCIs and LC2s, that they have a role to ensure that children stay in schools. We will also remind parents to carry on their parental responsibility,” he said.
Katwesige promised that Nalweyo sub-county would conduct an operation to arrest owners and managers of farms and plantations, who are using school-going children in their farms and pay them between sh7,000 and sh10,000 every day.
According to David Ndabikuze, the community liaison officer of NASECO Seed Company, schools are provided with textbooks and learners starting from primary one to primary seven get supported with books, pens and pencils under the project.
He said they have, since the project started in 2024, been offering refresher training to teachers and have so far given out 101,274 text books, and over sh100 million has been injected into the project.
Ndabikuze noted that the project was initiated after they discovered that about 1,850 leaners start low primary school but only 685 reach upper primary.
Tom Katwesige, the Nyalweyo sub-county chairperson, commended NASECO for partnering with the Government to foster development, especially in the education and agriculture sectors.
Katwesige noted that parents still have a poor mindset towards education and that there is a need to have a mindset change campaign to address the problem of school dropouts.
“We are planning to organise sensitisation meetings for both local leaders and parents. During the meeting, we will remind the local leaders, especially LCIs and LC2s, that they have a role to ensure that children stay in schools. We will also remind parents to carry on their parental responsibility,” he said.
Katwesige promised that Nalweyo sub-county would conduct an operation to arrest owners and managers of farms and plantations, who are using school-going children in their farms and pay them between sh7,000 and sh10,000 every day.
According to David Ndabikuze, the community liaison officer of NASECO Seed Company, schools are provided with textbooks and learners starting from primary one to primary seven get supported with books, pens and pencils under the project.
He said they have, since the project started in 2024, been offering refresher training to teachers and have so far given out 101,274 text books, and over sh100 million has been injected into the project.
Ndabikuze noted that the project was initiated after they discovered that about 1,850 leaners start low primary school but only 685 reach upper primary.