Schools ordered to admit students on USE programme
Jan 24, 2008
HEADTEACHERS have been ordered to admit all students allocated to their schools under the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme.
By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
HEADTEACHERS have been ordered to admit all students allocated to their schools under the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme.
The chairman of the Ministry of Education admissions board, Lucien Omagor, yesterday warned head teachers against turning away students who scored a minimum of aggregate 28. He directed that all such students should be admitted in government-aided schools or private schools which are implementing USE. This is the second lot of USE beneficiaries.
Head teachers who don’t comply face arrest, Omagor warned.
“It is criminal to engage in a task that endangers the state. You must admit all students as long as they have the requirements. If people are dissatisfied with your work, they will complain and you will be held accountable,†he stated.
Omagor was addressing 1,500 school heads at the opening of the S.1 exercise at Namboole National Stadium in Wakiso district.
Omagor, who is also the commissioner for guidance and counseling, told the head teachers that the public was dissatisfied with the way some of them handle admissions.
“The law has been changed to put you directly responsible for any mistakes you make. If you want to avoid getting into problems, use the guidelines,†he said.
The guidelines indicate that head teachers are not supposed to charge any money for admission.
They are also warned against setting an age limit or conducting interviews for admitting students.
“Charging money or setting other unnecessary conditions is prohibited, the selection chief, Francis Uma Agura, said.
Agura said head teachers had been asked not to allow students to repeat a class. “There is no space for them. Some schools admitted over 300 students in S.1 last year, if some of them repeat, where will the others go?†he asked.
Most top schools maintained high cut-off points of between aggregate 4 and 8.
Mt. St. Mary’s Namagunga and St. Mary’s Kisubi stopped at aggregate 5. Uganda Martyrs Namugungo, Nabisunsa Girls, King’s College Budo, Gayaza High School, Bweranyangi Girls, Busoga College Mwiri, Namilyango College, Makerere College, Trinity College Nabbingo, Kiira College Butiki, Ntare School and St. Henry’s College Kitovu were very competitive.
According to the proposed intake released by the selection board, 212,939 students were admitted to various secondary schools.
Out of these, 139,408 were admitted into 797 government-aided schools. A total of 46,680 students will join private schools.
The 113 government-aided schools, which are not participating in USE, absorbed 23,130 students. Technical and vocational schools took 3,720 students. These figures are likely to change as other students are admitted.
The enrolment in some schools has been reduced owing to lack of space. For example, the ministry reduced the intake in Kampala schools. Last year, many of them admitted 600 students. This year, Kololo High school will take 500, Kololo SS 240, Lakeside Luzira 300, Kampala 180, Nateete Muslim 240 and St. Dennis Ggaba will have 240.
Soroti High School, Nkoma SS, Kaliro SS, Bwikya Memorial and Gulu SS admitted the highest number, with 480 students each.
HEADTEACHERS have been ordered to admit all students allocated to their schools under the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme.
The chairman of the Ministry of Education admissions board, Lucien Omagor, yesterday warned head teachers against turning away students who scored a minimum of aggregate 28. He directed that all such students should be admitted in government-aided schools or private schools which are implementing USE. This is the second lot of USE beneficiaries.
Head teachers who don’t comply face arrest, Omagor warned.
“It is criminal to engage in a task that endangers the state. You must admit all students as long as they have the requirements. If people are dissatisfied with your work, they will complain and you will be held accountable,†he stated.
Omagor was addressing 1,500 school heads at the opening of the S.1 exercise at Namboole National Stadium in Wakiso district.
Omagor, who is also the commissioner for guidance and counseling, told the head teachers that the public was dissatisfied with the way some of them handle admissions.
“The law has been changed to put you directly responsible for any mistakes you make. If you want to avoid getting into problems, use the guidelines,†he said.
The guidelines indicate that head teachers are not supposed to charge any money for admission.
They are also warned against setting an age limit or conducting interviews for admitting students.
“Charging money or setting other unnecessary conditions is prohibited, the selection chief, Francis Uma Agura, said.
Agura said head teachers had been asked not to allow students to repeat a class. “There is no space for them. Some schools admitted over 300 students in S.1 last year, if some of them repeat, where will the others go?†he asked.
Most top schools maintained high cut-off points of between aggregate 4 and 8.
Mt. St. Mary’s Namagunga and St. Mary’s Kisubi stopped at aggregate 5. Uganda Martyrs Namugungo, Nabisunsa Girls, King’s College Budo, Gayaza High School, Bweranyangi Girls, Busoga College Mwiri, Namilyango College, Makerere College, Trinity College Nabbingo, Kiira College Butiki, Ntare School and St. Henry’s College Kitovu were very competitive.
According to the proposed intake released by the selection board, 212,939 students were admitted to various secondary schools.
Out of these, 139,408 were admitted into 797 government-aided schools. A total of 46,680 students will join private schools.
The 113 government-aided schools, which are not participating in USE, absorbed 23,130 students. Technical and vocational schools took 3,720 students. These figures are likely to change as other students are admitted.
The enrolment in some schools has been reduced owing to lack of space. For example, the ministry reduced the intake in Kampala schools. Last year, many of them admitted 600 students. This year, Kololo High school will take 500, Kololo SS 240, Lakeside Luzira 300, Kampala 180, Nateete Muslim 240 and St. Dennis Ggaba will have 240.
Soroti High School, Nkoma SS, Kaliro SS, Bwikya Memorial and Gulu SS admitted the highest number, with 480 students each.