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Amuru, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Amuru district education department is looking at least 7000 classroom desks for primary learners in the district.
Amuru district has over 145 schools including 36 Nursery Schools, 97 Primary Schools including government, private and community schools and 11 Secondary Schools. By March this year when the president closed schools due to the novel coronavirus, the district had an enrollment of 41,000 learners.
Apollo Okello, the secretary for health, education and sports Amuru district says, the most affected learners by the inadequate seating facilities are those from primary one to primary four.
According to Okello, lack of sitting capacity has impacted the high school dropout rate and low enrollment over the years. He adds that this also affects the level of concentration in class which manifests in the poor performances in national examinations.
Michael Lakony, Amuru district LCV Chairperson says in the 2018/19 financial year, they had requested the education ministry to fund the procurement of desks for the schools in the district but were told to prioritize between desks and Amuru seed secondary school.
According to Lakony, as a result of the directive by the ministry, they have resorted to seeking support from development partners to bridge the seating gap. He adds that, recently, they received 40 desks for Abera and Paminlalwak primary schools from Save the Children, a non-governmental organization working in the district.
Lucy Akello, Amuru district woman MP says there`s need for the government to support and improve the learning environment if the level of concentration and performance in the district is to improve.
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