The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Luwero, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Atleast 78 percent of pupils who are enrolled in Primary one drop out of school before reaching Primary Seven, exposing them to teenage pregnancies and child labour, the Luwero district survey has revealed.
According to the Luwero District Health report, at least 4,465 girls under the age of 19 got pregnant in 2023/24. The report revealed that 49 girls were aged below 15, and 4,416 were between 15 and 19.
As a result, the District Health Department surveyed to establish the leading causes of pregnancies in the communities and how to fight them.
Doctor Innocent Nkonwa, the District Health Officer, explains that in the survey conducted of 10 schools and communities within 10 lower local governments, they found out that for every 100 pupils that enroll in primary one, only 22% had completed primary seven.
Nkonwa said that the survey involved reviewing enrollment data in the selected schools and interviewing over 400 girls under 19 years from the communities.
Nkonwa said that during the survey, girls blamed the dropout of the school on lack of basic school requirements, poverty in homes and poor school environment among other factors.
Nkonwa noted that girls, upon dropping out of school, resorted to getting pregnant, marriage, and boys opted for child labour for survival.
He appealed to the Education, Production and Community departments to draw strategies to fight school dropout, saying teenage mothers are exerting pressure on limited health services.
Erastus Kibirango, the LCV Chairman of Luwero District, said that the rate of dropout is a great concern, and there is a need to encourage parents to motivate learners to stay in school.
Kibirango said that one of the causes of dropout was the failure of parents to pay lunch allowances for learners, something that they are fighting.
Hajji Yusuf Kamulegeya the Luwero District Inspector of Schools said the department has since ordered schools to compile a report on enrollment and account for those who drop out of school to help them address the matter.
Olivia Namukwaya, the Programmes Coordinator of Girls Outloud Organisation, said that one of the factors that drives girls out of school is the lack of sanitary pads.
Namukwaya, one of the interventions, the organisation has embarked on donating reusable sanitary pads to schools in two sub-counties that include Butuntumula and Nyimbwa to enable learners to stay in school.
The latest report indicates an increase in school dropout in the district compared to past years.
The Luwero District Child Status report, released in 2019, indicated that 64% of the learners had dropped out of school before sitting the Primary Leaving Examinations.
The report indicated that 35,109 pupils were enrolled in schools in 2012, but only 12,650 (36%) pupils managed to register for Primary Leaving Examinations in 2018 and 22,459 (64%) dropped out of school.
The report also revealed that 28,933 pupils were enrolled in 2011, but only 11,620 (40%) registered for PLE and 17,313 (6%0 %) pupils dropped out of school.
The report further revealed that 367 (3.1%) and 291 (2.3%) pupils who registered for PLE didn’t sit the exams in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
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Why were the parents not interviewed
This is happening in a setting of parents from a ” lost generation’
Ate they able to afford the payment for lunch?
Do they value education?
Are they aware that there is a problem
Do they have hope in life?