Refugees in Lamwo district to access quality education

EDUCATION  REFUGEES

The Government is set to improve the learning conditions of refugees in Lamwo district.

The permanent secretary in the education ministry, Alex Kakooza, asked parents to work with government and other stakeholders to improve on the quality of education offered to refugees and the host community.

"I know Lamwo is one of those districts, which are not doing extremely well in education. As a ministry, we want to extend education services in the refugee-hosting districts," Kakooza said.

Alex Kakooza, Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Education and Sports launching a classroom block at Paluda Secondary School in Palabek Refugee Settlement, Lamwo District-Northern Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda)

 
The PS was visiting Lamwo to monitor the implementation of the education response plan for refugees and host communities.

He met district leaders and partners at Palabek Settlement Field Mission.

Lamwo district chairperson John Ogwok Komakech said one of the biggest challenges the district was grappling with is human resource.

"There is a gap of about 460 primary school teachers compared to the national standards," Komakech said.

Komakech also pointed out some of the challenges refugee-hosting communities were grappling with. These include congestion caused due to inadequate classroom blocks, lack of teachers' accommodation, inadequate textbooks and inadequate sanitary facilities for both teachers and learners.

"Because of the increasing number of learners, we do not have enough desks in the classrooms.  Besides that, the issue of school attendance is also affecting us.

A teacher teaching pupils of World View Primary School and ECO at Palabek refugee settlement, Palabek Ogili Sub County, Lamwo district, Northern Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda)

 
"We have so many children that would ordinarily be going to school but are not at school. This also includes the refugees," Komakech added.

He requested the Government to support the district by recruiting more teachers and also put up infrastructure in order to improve on the quality of education.

Charles Uma, the Chief Administrative Officer for Lwamwo, said the staffing level at the district is extremely low as the education ministry conducted transfers without replacements.

To ensure that effective learning and teaching goes on, Uma requested the Government to consider replacing the teachers that the ministry deployed away from Lamwo district.

To reach out to the community, Vick Ikobwa, the senior education officer at UNHCR, said locals participate in these schools once there coded and available to both nationals and refugees.

 
In a move to improve on the quality of education, Kakooza also advises parents to provide food to their children because education is a shared responsibility. Besides, it is hard for a pupil to study on an empty stomach.

Kakooza appreciated all partners, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for providing basic education to the refugees.

Palabek refugee settlement in Lamwo district was officially opened in April 2017 to enhance reception capacity of new arrivals. 

It is one of the newest refugee settlements in Uganda and currently hosts about 53,218 refugees. Palabek settlement is in three sub-counties. These include Palabek Kal, Palabek Ogili and Palabek Gem.