Children Arrested For Skipping School
Aug 03, 2003
FOR a long time, parents in Kasese took schooling for granted. But in a recent turn of events, the local council passed a bye-law that any child found loitering on a school day should be arrested and the parents fined sh5,000. Education Vision’s <b>Joan Mugenzi</b> was in Kasese and reports
Mayina! Mayina!†the little girl screamed for dear life as she was being picked to go and answer questions for failing to go to school on Friday. This was near Kyondo police post in Kyondo sub-county, Kasese district.
Mayina is literally translated to mean sister-in-law. Six-year-old Dorothy was with her sister-in-law, Medius Masika, when the local authorities caught up with her.
Tears and a running nose won sympathy from the onlookers.
“She will never dare to miss school again,†one of the on-lookers remarked.
No explanation could assure the young girl that she was not in danger. Dorothy said she was going to check on her grandfather in hospital and that her parents had told her to go with Masika.
Probably if it was another day, they would let the explanation pass without question. It was the wrong day; Friday.
Friday is a market day in Kisiinga trading centre, in Kisiinga sub-county and many parents prefer having their children help out in the market, than send them to school.
It became too much for the authorities that in June, this year, Kyondo sub-county passed a bye-law that any child found loitering on the market day should be arrested, taken to police and their parents should pay a sh5000 fine.
By mid-day, two weeks ago, the Kyondo authorities had arrested eight children who were trapped on their way to the market.
The other children were much older than Dorothy. Their answers did not come out as innocent. They systematically calculated the words to ensure that they did not admit going to the market. They were aware of the bye-law.
These people put up roadblocks where they would get the children.
Ismail Sekalombi, the in-charge of Kyondo Police Post, said that once the children are arrested they get their details and keep them at the post until the end of the day when the market closes.
“I believe the measure works. Once you get a student opting for the market and then you keep them here the whole day, they would have had a double loss. Next time they cannot repeat it. They will definitely go to school,†says Sekalombi.
According to Martin Kaheru, a district inspector of schools in Kasese, this by-law accrued from a bi-annual joint meeting between community leaders and parents.
“We had many incidences of children going to the market when it was school time. They decided to come up with the bye-law. In essence, the bye-law is not meant to punish, but to deter them from wrong doing,†says Kaheru.
Although he did not have any statistics readily available, he said that in the hardly one month with the by-law in place, there has been a reduction in school absenteeism on market days.
The bye-law also affects the planting, weeding and harvesting seasons.
In order to ensure that the bye-law is effective, Kyondo sub-county works hand-in-hand with the authorities in Kisiinga.
While law enforcers in Kyondo get hold of children walking to the market, the authorities in Kisiinga storm the market and catch up with the children there.
The Kyondo market is which is three kilometres away from the Kyondo sub-county headquarters,
So far Kyarumba, Kisiinga and Kyondo are the sub-counties that have come up with the by-law.
The by-law also came up partly as a result of the pressure from the Parish Development Committees (PDCs) in place, which monitor children in the area.
Joseph Kasibirehe, the Kyondo PDC chairperson, said that they were working closely with the sub-county authorities to ensure that they come up with concrete plans to curtail school absenteeism.
PDCs, who are playing an important role in the community, were empowered to do their work by Unicef, through Unicef’s new approach to programming code-named Human Rights Approach to Programming.
Damascus Macheri, the Unicef programme officer in charge of the South Western region, said that this new approach (for the country programme 2001-2005), helps people understand their rights and claim for them.
It also ensures that it enlightens those who are supposed to ensure that these rights are provided for.
Macheri says that with this approach, communities design programmes that help them fulfil certain rights.
One of the key areas they are looking at under this Unicef-Government of Uganda Country Programme is the Child-Friendly Basic Education and Learning Programme. This new bye-law is an innovation to ensure that children explore their right to education.
Under the Child Friendly Basic Education and Learning programme area, communities have to ensure enrolment and retention of children in schools.
Much as Unicef has tried to work hard to ensure that they create a child-friendly atmosphere in the sub counties of Kyondo, Kitholhu, Kilembe and Kitswamba in Kasese district, absenteeism continued to be an issue of great concern. Authorities decided to go the extra mile.
In Kyondo, so far 23 children have been arrested since the inception of the bye-law. Although no parent has actually parted with the sh5000, the fright that the children undergo assures authorities that they cannot dare miss school, again.
Ends
Mayina is literally translated to mean sister-in-law. Six-year-old Dorothy was with her sister-in-law, Medius Masika, when the local authorities caught up with her.
Tears and a running nose won sympathy from the onlookers.
“She will never dare to miss school again,†one of the on-lookers remarked.
No explanation could assure the young girl that she was not in danger. Dorothy said she was going to check on her grandfather in hospital and that her parents had told her to go with Masika.
Probably if it was another day, they would let the explanation pass without question. It was the wrong day; Friday.
Friday is a market day in Kisiinga trading centre, in Kisiinga sub-county and many parents prefer having their children help out in the market, than send them to school.
It became too much for the authorities that in June, this year, Kyondo sub-county passed a bye-law that any child found loitering on the market day should be arrested, taken to police and their parents should pay a sh5000 fine.
By mid-day, two weeks ago, the Kyondo authorities had arrested eight children who were trapped on their way to the market.
The other children were much older than Dorothy. Their answers did not come out as innocent. They systematically calculated the words to ensure that they did not admit going to the market. They were aware of the bye-law.
These people put up roadblocks where they would get the children.
Ismail Sekalombi, the in-charge of Kyondo Police Post, said that once the children are arrested they get their details and keep them at the post until the end of the day when the market closes.
“I believe the measure works. Once you get a student opting for the market and then you keep them here the whole day, they would have had a double loss. Next time they cannot repeat it. They will definitely go to school,†says Sekalombi.
According to Martin Kaheru, a district inspector of schools in Kasese, this by-law accrued from a bi-annual joint meeting between community leaders and parents.
“We had many incidences of children going to the market when it was school time. They decided to come up with the bye-law. In essence, the bye-law is not meant to punish, but to deter them from wrong doing,†says Kaheru.
Although he did not have any statistics readily available, he said that in the hardly one month with the by-law in place, there has been a reduction in school absenteeism on market days.
The bye-law also affects the planting, weeding and harvesting seasons.
In order to ensure that the bye-law is effective, Kyondo sub-county works hand-in-hand with the authorities in Kisiinga.
While law enforcers in Kyondo get hold of children walking to the market, the authorities in Kisiinga storm the market and catch up with the children there.
The Kyondo market is which is three kilometres away from the Kyondo sub-county headquarters,
So far Kyarumba, Kisiinga and Kyondo are the sub-counties that have come up with the by-law.
The by-law also came up partly as a result of the pressure from the Parish Development Committees (PDCs) in place, which monitor children in the area.
Joseph Kasibirehe, the Kyondo PDC chairperson, said that they were working closely with the sub-county authorities to ensure that they come up with concrete plans to curtail school absenteeism.
PDCs, who are playing an important role in the community, were empowered to do their work by Unicef, through Unicef’s new approach to programming code-named Human Rights Approach to Programming.
Damascus Macheri, the Unicef programme officer in charge of the South Western region, said that this new approach (for the country programme 2001-2005), helps people understand their rights and claim for them.
It also ensures that it enlightens those who are supposed to ensure that these rights are provided for.
Macheri says that with this approach, communities design programmes that help them fulfil certain rights.
One of the key areas they are looking at under this Unicef-Government of Uganda Country Programme is the Child-Friendly Basic Education and Learning Programme. This new bye-law is an innovation to ensure that children explore their right to education.
Under the Child Friendly Basic Education and Learning programme area, communities have to ensure enrolment and retention of children in schools.
Much as Unicef has tried to work hard to ensure that they create a child-friendly atmosphere in the sub counties of Kyondo, Kitholhu, Kilembe and Kitswamba in Kasese district, absenteeism continued to be an issue of great concern. Authorities decided to go the extra mile.
In Kyondo, so far 23 children have been arrested since the inception of the bye-law. Although no parent has actually parted with the sh5000, the fright that the children undergo assures authorities that they cannot dare miss school, again.
Ends