500 primary seven candidates fail to report back to school in Kitgum

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 550 primary seven candidates have failed to report back to school in Kitgum district.

According to data obtained by the district education department, 292 are boys while 234 are girls.

The Kitgum District Inspector of Schools Bitek Okot says the statistics were obtained from a recent assessment conducted to ascertain how many candidates were registered for the Primary Leaving Examinations against the total enrollment of learners who reported to school in the first term.

According to Okot, Orom sub county registered the highest number of absentee candidates at 87 followed by Kitgum- Matidi with 81, Omiya Anyima with 80, Namukora sub county with 77 and Mucwini with 73 absentees.

Other sub counties include Lagoro with 70 and Labongo Akwang with 68. Okot attributes the low turn up to teenage pregnancies, early marriages, child labour, child trafficking and influence of leaders.

Paul Odong, a parent says the widespread low student turn up in most schools is due to the lockdown imposed to curtail the spread of the coronavirus disease where many female candidates either became pregnant and cannot return or have been married off.

He also says some parents decided to keep their children away from school for fear of contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while others opted to transfer their children to other schools.

Kitgum district LCV chairperson Jackson Omona faults parents for having a negative perception towards education and calls on different stakeholders to create awareness and mobilizing the community to change the mind-set of embracing education.

He stressed on the need to enforce the district education ordinance to penalize parents who are encouraging the vice of early marriages and those implicated for failing to let learners report back to school.

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