Over 750 learners abandon Zombo school as third term ends
The school is the only government-aided primary institution serving Serr Parish and neighbouring agrarian communities, including parts of Padea Town Council and cross-border areas near the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Zombo: Padea Ulyeko Government-Aided Primary School in Abanga Sub-County, Zombo District, is facing a devastating learner retention crisis after 752 pupils 69.3% of the school’s enrolment dropped out between Term I and Term III of 2025.
Local leaders say this is the highest dropout rate recorded in the school’s 30-year history.
During the school’s Annual General Meeting on December 2, 2025, Headteacher Mr Richard Wanadi presented a comprehensive dropout analysis report showing enrolment had plummeted from 1,086 learners at the start of Term I to only 334 in Term III. The data was verified through Local Council I (LCI) chairpersons.
Villages with the highest absenteeism included: Nsangi with 83 dropouts, Pavur 69, Andhi 67, Acu Cell 58 and Ucol 59.
The school is the only government-aided primary institution serving Serr Parish and neighbouring agrarian communities, including parts of Padea Town Council and cross-border areas near the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr Wanadi highlighted several push-and-pull factors contributing to the crisis, including: cross-border coffee trade between Uganda and DR Congo, Widespread roasted-maize vending, particularly affecting female learners and parents withdrawing children for farm labour in Nyapea and Atyak sub-counties
Parents at the AGM also acknowledged weak parental engagement and poor scholastic supervision at home.
Former teacher and parent Mr James Openji lamented: “By keeping children at home, we have caused a full academic year of learning loss.”
The situation at Padea Ulyeko reflects a broader enrolment collapse across Zombo District’s 92 public primary schools. The crisis has been worsened by the 32-day nationwide teachers’ strike led by the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) at the beginning of Term III.
Abanga Sub-County LCIII Chairperson Mr Richard Awekunimungu identified seasonal withdrawal of children for farm work as a major driver of the chronic absenteeism seen in Term III.
Paidha Town Council LCIII Chairperson Innocent Godfred Onega urged urgent, multi-stakeholder interventions to address the crisis.
District Education Officer Mr Patrick Angala, in an earlier interview, warned that if attrition remains unchecked, it will severely undermine the district’s long-term education outcomes.
The West Nile Sub-Region continues to grapple with deep-rooted education challenges. Functional literacy stands at only 7.8%, while 28.7% of residents have never attended school.
Nationally, data from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) and the 2024 Education and Sports Sector Annual Performance Report (ESSAPR) shows that over 40% of pupils do not complete primary school, with girls especially affected by early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and poverty.
The current dropout wave in Zombo mirrors post-COVID-19 disruptions, during which over 5,000 girls in the district were forced out of school due to early pregnancies and child marriages.
Stakeholders including the Alur Kingdom, local leaders, and civil society organisations are calling for urgent, targeted learner retention interventions to reverse the trend and protect gains made under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme.
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