21 Irish-funded Karamoja schools commissioned

The First Lady and Minister for Karamoja Affairs Mrs. Janet Museveni together with the Irish Ambassador Dónal Cronin, on Friday commissioned the 21 schools supported by Irish Aid under the Karamoja Primary Education Project (KPEP) at a ceremony in Nakapiripirit Primary School.

Under the project, Irish Aid provided €12.7 million to fund the construction and rehabilitation of 21 Primary Schools throughout the region of Karamoja in order to support access and retention of pupils in Primary Schools including promotion of the girl child education. Each of the 7 Districts in Karamoja received 3 schools.

The newly constructed infrastructure includes teachers' housing, furnished dormitories and classrooms, kitchens, solar panels and sanitation facilities. Rain-harvesting and tree planting, as a form of environmental conservation, was also included in the programme plus instructional materials.

While addressing the people who gathered to witness the commissioning, First Lady Janet Museveni described the Irish funded Karamoja Primary Education Project as an excellent representation of what education is.

"I believe that education does not merely mean academic work in a classroom but includes everything that happens in the young people's lives when growing up for example how one lives, eats and sleeps" she said.

"I must therefore with sincerity thank the Irish people through Irish Aid for the support they have given selflessly to Uganda over the many years and for the strategic focus on Karamoja", she said.

She commended the quality of the project and the integrity of the contractors in ensuring value for money to the extent of declaring a balance of over one billion shillings from the original estimated cost.

She observed that Government through its various programs and projects will continue to address the long standing need for teachers' houses country wide.

Museveni also thanked the Irish Embassy for taking on the coordination of the Karamoja Donor Group saying she is optimistic that it will help bring projects from the different partners together and also enable all implementers in the Karamoja region to ‘walk the talk'.

She saluted the people of Nakapiripirit for opening up land and appealed to them to utilize the current rains to plant much more food for feeding the families and selling the surplus for income.

The girl's dormitory which is one of the newly constructed structures for Nakapiripiriti Primary School.

Speaking at the commissioning, Ambassador Cronin, said, that Ireland will continue to stand with the leaders and people of Karamoja in their effort to develop their region.

"We have come a long way but there is still work to be done. We are committed to partnering with you in addressing these challenges and in building on the multitude of opportunities that exist here, as your partner, ally, and friend" he said.

Cronin paid particular tribute to Janet Museveni for her leadership and strong cooperation.

"Thanks to your efforts, and the hard work of the Government of Uganda and the people of Karamoja, we have seen this region move from fragility to stability, and the journey is well under way as the region moves from stability to ability. Ability to secure livelihoods, to ensure enough food, to attract investment and to play a full and productive part in the development of this nation" he said.

He also thanked all the partners involved in ensuring that the project was a success.

He thanked the Minister of Education Hon. Jessica Alupo and the project co-ordination team from the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports, the management agent Deloitte for their efficient and effective management and oversight of the project over the last 3 years, the building contractors (Excel and Seyani Brothers), technical partners Pro-plan and Turner & Townsend, as well as the local governments, communities and school boards.  

"This is your school," the Ambassador told the teachers and pupils. "I hope that this, and all the other schools across Karamoja which have been rehabilitated as part of this programme, will be at the heart of your communities, providing quality education in a safe environment, and equipping the next generation of Karamajong for what I hope will be a bright and prosperous future."

In her remarks, the Minister for Education, Science, Technology and Sports Maj. (Rtd) Dr. Alupo Jessica said the 21 beneficiary schools have a total enrolment of 17,008 pupils out of which 8,945 (53.7%) are boys and 8,066 (46.3%) are girls. 

She added that it is now expected that the total new enrolment in the 21 schools will increase by about 30% to about 22,470 in the next 4 years and Karamoja will thus realize the UPE goal of increasing access to primary education.

She appealed to the various school authorities to use the new facilities for their intended purpose saying the Ministry of Education would regularly monitor these facilities from time to time.

The Karamoja Primary Education Project was launched by Ireland's Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello TD together with the First Lady Janet Museveni and the Minster for Education and Sports Jessica Alupo in December 2013 at Loodoi Primary School in Napak District and construction work commenced in June 2014.