MATS SERVE AS BEDS IN DORMITORIES
Jul 28, 2009
<b>KARAMOJA: Lucky pupils sleep four on a bed while others spread blankets in class</b><br><br>CHILDREN in Karamoja spend school days wondering if they will ever realise their dreams. “The environment is so harsh. Food and water are a dream,†says
KARAMOJA: Lucky pupils sleep four on a bed while others spread blankets in class
BY F. WOMAKUYU
CHILDREN in Karamoja spend school days wondering if they will ever realise their dreams. “The environment is so harsh. Food and water are a dream,†says Ambrose Lotukei, the district education officer of Kotido.
With the national primary enrollment rate at 83%, Uganda is making better progress in the education sector. But in the arid plains of Karamoja, drought, food insecurity and poverty have made education an exception rather than a right.
Low enrolment and high drop out
Only 40% of the children attend primary education out of a total population of about 200,000. Lotukei says, 19% of them are able to complete P7, while only 15% enroll in Form One. He adds that 10% sit Form Four while only 8% pass.
The education ministry statistics indicate that in Kotido, out of the 52,000 children of primary school going age, only 11,717 are studying. Similarly in Abim, out of the 30,200 children supposed to be in school, only 21,099 go to school.
In Moroto, out of the 30,000 children meant to be at school, only 19,352 are at school. Kaabong with 60,000 children, only has 33,326 enrolled in school, while Nakapiripirit, with 28,000 school going children, only 21,146 are in school.
“Less than 6% of the students are girls because they are married off early. Parents believe girls are wasting time at school,†says Paul Lomanio, the LC5 chairman of Kotido.
Inadequate teachers and schools
Kaabong, has no secondary school. Kotido has one government school, Moroto has two government schools, while Abim and Nakapiripirit have one each.
“The children in secondary schools are actually not Karimojongs. Many come from Teso, Bugisu and Sebei regions,†says Ben Ogwal, a teacher.
The few schools that exist are overcrowded. For instance, Alangat Primary School has no beds and pupils sleep on the floor. Dormitories act as stores, where meals are kept. Two to three pupils share mats. With a population of 400, it has only five teachers.
At Kalapata School, the structures are dilapidated, with windows and doors broken. Lucky pupils sleep four on a bed, while the others spread blankets in class.
With a population of 450, the school only has seven teachers. Lotukei says the teacher to pupil ratio is 1:90. “In Kotido, out of the 154 teachers, some schools have only three. This has been exacerbated by Universal Primary Education (UPE),†he adds.
Why the high dropout?
With UPE, enrollment shot from 15% to 40%, but facilities never expanded.
At Alice Lelum’s Kaabong P/S, enrollment shot up to 400, from 10 in 1996. At Kobulin P/S in Moroto, enrolment increased from 90 pupils before 1996 to about 350. The latrines are overflowing and the closest water supply is 14km away.
One reason why many pupils do not make it up to P7 is that many schools stop at Primary Five. For example Kotido has 26 primary schools but only eight have classes up to P7. The rest range from P1 to P5.
“Schools with P7 are found almost 100km away from the reach of many pupils. Those who cannot afford boarding requirements drop out,†Lotukei says.
Parents are reluctant to send their girl child to school because they marry them off early or help in house chores.
At Obalangat P/S, P7 has no single girl and at Kalapata P/S, out of the 40 pupils in class, only eight are girls.
John Lodiate, the deputy head teacher, says since 2001, 90 girls aged 11 to 16 have been married off.
“Parents bring their girls here to eat school food and grow. When a man comes, they withdraw them from school and marry off,†he says.â€
In 2007, out of the 18 pupils who sat for PLE in Kalapata, only four were girls.
“All the girls failed and only two boys passed,†Lodiate says.
But there is hope
School feeding programmes by the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF are keeping some children in school.
To make the girls stay at school, WFP is giving 25kg of porridge, 10kg of beans and 10 litres of cooking oil to take home
Albert Byamugisha, the assistant commissioner for planning in the Ministry of Education, says they have introduced a hardship allowance to attract teachers in Karamoja. “We plan to give scholarships to children from Karamoja so that after their courses, they return home to help in school,†he says.
BY F. WOMAKUYU
CHILDREN in Karamoja spend school days wondering if they will ever realise their dreams. “The environment is so harsh. Food and water are a dream,†says Ambrose Lotukei, the district education officer of Kotido.
With the national primary enrollment rate at 83%, Uganda is making better progress in the education sector. But in the arid plains of Karamoja, drought, food insecurity and poverty have made education an exception rather than a right.
Low enrolment and high drop out
Only 40% of the children attend primary education out of a total population of about 200,000. Lotukei says, 19% of them are able to complete P7, while only 15% enroll in Form One. He adds that 10% sit Form Four while only 8% pass.
The education ministry statistics indicate that in Kotido, out of the 52,000 children of primary school going age, only 11,717 are studying. Similarly in Abim, out of the 30,200 children supposed to be in school, only 21,099 go to school.
In Moroto, out of the 30,000 children meant to be at school, only 19,352 are at school. Kaabong with 60,000 children, only has 33,326 enrolled in school, while Nakapiripirit, with 28,000 school going children, only 21,146 are in school.
“Less than 6% of the students are girls because they are married off early. Parents believe girls are wasting time at school,†says Paul Lomanio, the LC5 chairman of Kotido.
Inadequate teachers and schools
Kaabong, has no secondary school. Kotido has one government school, Moroto has two government schools, while Abim and Nakapiripirit have one each.
“The children in secondary schools are actually not Karimojongs. Many come from Teso, Bugisu and Sebei regions,†says Ben Ogwal, a teacher.
The few schools that exist are overcrowded. For instance, Alangat Primary School has no beds and pupils sleep on the floor. Dormitories act as stores, where meals are kept. Two to three pupils share mats. With a population of 400, it has only five teachers.
At Kalapata School, the structures are dilapidated, with windows and doors broken. Lucky pupils sleep four on a bed, while the others spread blankets in class.
With a population of 450, the school only has seven teachers. Lotukei says the teacher to pupil ratio is 1:90. “In Kotido, out of the 154 teachers, some schools have only three. This has been exacerbated by Universal Primary Education (UPE),†he adds.
Why the high dropout?
With UPE, enrollment shot from 15% to 40%, but facilities never expanded.
At Alice Lelum’s Kaabong P/S, enrollment shot up to 400, from 10 in 1996. At Kobulin P/S in Moroto, enrolment increased from 90 pupils before 1996 to about 350. The latrines are overflowing and the closest water supply is 14km away.
One reason why many pupils do not make it up to P7 is that many schools stop at Primary Five. For example Kotido has 26 primary schools but only eight have classes up to P7. The rest range from P1 to P5.
“Schools with P7 are found almost 100km away from the reach of many pupils. Those who cannot afford boarding requirements drop out,†Lotukei says.
Parents are reluctant to send their girl child to school because they marry them off early or help in house chores.
At Obalangat P/S, P7 has no single girl and at Kalapata P/S, out of the 40 pupils in class, only eight are girls.
John Lodiate, the deputy head teacher, says since 2001, 90 girls aged 11 to 16 have been married off.
“Parents bring their girls here to eat school food and grow. When a man comes, they withdraw them from school and marry off,†he says.â€
In 2007, out of the 18 pupils who sat for PLE in Kalapata, only four were girls.
“All the girls failed and only two boys passed,†Lodiate says.
But there is hope
School feeding programmes by the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF are keeping some children in school.
To make the girls stay at school, WFP is giving 25kg of porridge, 10kg of beans and 10 litres of cooking oil to take home
Albert Byamugisha, the assistant commissioner for planning in the Ministry of Education, says they have introduced a hardship allowance to attract teachers in Karamoja. “We plan to give scholarships to children from Karamoja so that after their courses, they return home to help in school,†he says.