PLE: Kasese teachers go to homes to trace for drop-outs

271 girls did not return when school re-opened ahead of PLE

Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Head Teachers in Kasese District have started going to homes to trace learners who dropped out of school during the lockdown.

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Kasese, Amis Asuman Masereka says 482  of 10,152 pupils who registered to sit for Primary Leaving Examination-PLE this year did not report back when candidate classes re-opened in November.

In October schools reopened, but only for candidate classes, after more than six months of inactivity following the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic.

The resolution to trace for the learners was reached during a meeting for both primary and secondary school head-teachers held at Kasese Youth Polytechnic in Kasese Municipality on Friday.

Masereka says that 271 of those that dropped out are girls who they believe could have been married off and some shied away from school because of pregnancies.  He says the campaign intends to have all candidates that registered sit for their final exams.

“Should you find any of these girls having been pregnant, kindly counsel and enable them so that they come back and sit exams. Ask the boys also. Take it as a duty as a teacher,” Masereka said.

George Mayinja the District Education Officer-DEO asked both parents and other stakeholders to help the authorities.  He adds that the ministry of education said that pregnant girls should be encouraged and supported to go back to school.

Meanwhile, only 2% of pupils who sat for mocks in the district managed to pass in Division One and 17% were ungraded.

Last year the State Minister of High Education John Chrysostom Muyingo during a district tour assured the locals that government was up to improve school performances in the district.

He said the ministry was to take a study on what is leading to under performance. However, this activity is yet to be carried out.

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