150,000 USE students enrolled
Apr 30, 2007
<br>A TOTAL of 155,176 Senior One students were admitted under the Universal Secondary Education programme in 1,149 schools country-wide, according to the head count results released by the education ministry yesterday.
By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
A TOTAL of 155,176 Senior One students were admitted under the Universal Secondary Education programme in 1,149 schools country-wide, according to the head count results released by the education ministry yesterday.
That is 20,000 less than the number the schools claimed they had enrolled. Almost 7,000 students were proven absent on the day the head count took place, while over 10,000 appeared not to meet the criteria. They either sat Primary Leaving Examination in the previous years or scored above the 28 aggregate cut-off mark.
The number of eligible USE students is lower than expected – the Government had anticipated 250,000 students – but a significant increase compared with last year. In 2006, 92,330 students enrolled in S1.
The total number of students in secondary school – from S1 to S6 – now stands at 451,000.
Most USE students - or some 120,000 - were admitted in Government-aided schools, while the private schools took 38,538.
Boys benefited more than girls, with 57% of the USE students being male and 43% female.
Statistics provided by the education ministry further reveal that 10,128 teachers in USE were on the Government payroll in term 1 and 8,390 classrooms were in use.
They also show that only 1,156 laboratories were in use. “The shortage of laboratories will be addressed in phases, initially targeting the large schools and the remote rural schools,†read a statement by the education ministry. “Science kits have already been supplied to some schools.â€
The ministry further promised to address the shortage of staff in USE schools. “So far 2,000 teachers have been recruited by the Education Service Commission.â€
According to the head count report, some schools were overwhelmed by the turn-up while others recorded low figures. A total of 44 schools have admitted over 300 students in S1.
The largest enrolment was recorded in urban schools. Nkoma Secondary School in Mbale tops the list, with 725 students admitted under USE, followed by Soroti Secondary School (716), Kitara Secondary School in Hoima (605), Serere Secondary School in Soroti (573) and Kaliro High School (530).
Schools with a poor turn-up included Bukasa SS in Kalangala, where only three students were registered, Apopong SS in Pallisa (five students), St. Adrian Kasozi in Rakai (six), Kigwa SS in Mityana (seven) and Nakapiripirit SS (10).
Bitamazire said double- shift sessions would be introduced in schools with a high number of new students.
“The programme might have started with challenges but we are determined to face them like we did with UPE,†she said.
The Commissioner for Planning, Arnold Dhatemwa, repeated that the Government would pay a capitation grant of sh29,420 per student in Government schools, while each of these schools would receive sh5m per term.
He added that the Government would pay sh47,000 for students in USE private schools.
No release of grants would be made to schools which had not yet submitted their school account numbers and those who did not sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education.
A TOTAL of 155,176 Senior One students were admitted under the Universal Secondary Education programme in 1,149 schools country-wide, according to the head count results released by the education ministry yesterday.
That is 20,000 less than the number the schools claimed they had enrolled. Almost 7,000 students were proven absent on the day the head count took place, while over 10,000 appeared not to meet the criteria. They either sat Primary Leaving Examination in the previous years or scored above the 28 aggregate cut-off mark.
The number of eligible USE students is lower than expected – the Government had anticipated 250,000 students – but a significant increase compared with last year. In 2006, 92,330 students enrolled in S1.
The total number of students in secondary school – from S1 to S6 – now stands at 451,000.
Most USE students - or some 120,000 - were admitted in Government-aided schools, while the private schools took 38,538.
Boys benefited more than girls, with 57% of the USE students being male and 43% female.
Statistics provided by the education ministry further reveal that 10,128 teachers in USE were on the Government payroll in term 1 and 8,390 classrooms were in use.
They also show that only 1,156 laboratories were in use. “The shortage of laboratories will be addressed in phases, initially targeting the large schools and the remote rural schools,†read a statement by the education ministry. “Science kits have already been supplied to some schools.â€
The ministry further promised to address the shortage of staff in USE schools. “So far 2,000 teachers have been recruited by the Education Service Commission.â€
According to the head count report, some schools were overwhelmed by the turn-up while others recorded low figures. A total of 44 schools have admitted over 300 students in S1.
The largest enrolment was recorded in urban schools. Nkoma Secondary School in Mbale tops the list, with 725 students admitted under USE, followed by Soroti Secondary School (716), Kitara Secondary School in Hoima (605), Serere Secondary School in Soroti (573) and Kaliro High School (530).
Schools with a poor turn-up included Bukasa SS in Kalangala, where only three students were registered, Apopong SS in Pallisa (five students), St. Adrian Kasozi in Rakai (six), Kigwa SS in Mityana (seven) and Nakapiripirit SS (10).
Bitamazire said double- shift sessions would be introduced in schools with a high number of new students.
“The programme might have started with challenges but we are determined to face them like we did with UPE,†she said.
The Commissioner for Planning, Arnold Dhatemwa, repeated that the Government would pay a capitation grant of sh29,420 per student in Government schools, while each of these schools would receive sh5m per term.
He added that the Government would pay sh47,000 for students in USE private schools.
No release of grants would be made to schools which had not yet submitted their school account numbers and those who did not sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education.