The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Jinja district’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Lilian Nakamate has announced that the Ministry of Education has ordered a recount of all students in both UPE and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools. This recount, to be coordinated by GISOs and DISOs, aims to eliminate inflated numbers.
This follows a petition to the CAO by a group of Jinja district councilors , raising concerns about inflated pupil numbers in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools. According to the councilors, headteachers often report higher enrollment numbers at the beginning of the school year than what is reflected during head counts in classrooms.
During a social services committee meeting on Wednesday, the councilors shared their findings from impromptu visits to various schools, where many headteachers were unable to provide accurate data on the pupils registered in their files.
Jinja district has 59 primary schools but continues to struggle with inflated pupil numbers, which affects resource distribution and the overall integrity of the education system.
Prossy Nakiirya, the Jinja district female youth councilor, revealed that their investigation suggests collusion between headteachers and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) chairpersons to falsify pupil enrollment numbers, sometimes linking these fake pupils to nonexistent parents.
“You can find headteachers submitting lists of 1,300 learners for UPE grants, yet the actual number of pupils is 600,” Nakiirya noted. She added that headteachers often blame the discrepancy on high dropout rates, despite evidence of non-existent learners.
Annet Kubonaku, the female district councilor for Butagaya sub-county, called for tighter measures from the district leadership to close gaps that allow headteachers to inflate pupil numbers. She said they had raised similar concerns over the past two years, but little had been done to address the issue.
Abdullah Mujoma, the male youth councilor, warned that such fraudulent practices deprive the district of proper resource allocation from the central government. He urged headteachers to uphold ethical behavior, as their actions set an example for their students.
In response, Jinja district’s CAO, Lilian Nakamate, announced that the Ministry of Education has ordered a recount of all students in both UPE and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools. This recount, coordinated by GISOs and DISOs, aims to eliminate inflated numbers.
Jinja district has 59 primary schools but continues to struggle with inflated pupil numbers, which affects resource distribution and the overall integrity of the education system.
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