Four Kitgum government schools fail to register candidates for decades

Kitgum: An investigation by this publication, Kitgum, has revealed that over four government-aided primary schools in Greater Orom, Kitgum District, Acholi subregion, have failed to register a single candidate for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) for decades.

The independent investigation report by ugreports.co.ug discovered that Locom Primary School in Orom East Subcounty, Kitgum District, has never registered a candidate in Primary Seven since its establishment in 1991, marking 32 years without a PLE candidate.

Similarly, Lokom Primary School, in the same subcounty, has not registered any candidates since its establishment in 1998.

This publication also found that Locomo Primary School in Akurumo Parish, Orom East Subcounty, has never registered pupils beyond Primary Five since its establishment in 1992, although in the 2024 academic year, the top class remains Primary Five. The school faces additional challenges, including a language barrier with Okuti, poor access, water shortages, and dilapidated classrooms.

In Kiteny Subcounty, Lodumuyere Primary School has never registered a PLE candidate since its establishment in 1998, with its highest class being Primary Six annually.

Hon. Kilama Patrick, Kitgum District Secretary for Education, Health, and Community Based Services, and also Orom East Subcounty Councillor V, stated that the district education department plans to implement a policy next year to retain children in these schools until they reach Primary Seven.

This decision follows the discovery that most pupils transfer to other schools for the upper primary classes. Locom and Lokom Primary Schools end at Primary Four, while Locomo ends at Primary Five.

Several challenges contribute to these educational problems, including parents’ negative attitudes toward education, long distances to schools, the lack of a school feeding program compared to the Karamoja subregion, laxity among leaders in implementing education policies, engagement in farm work, early marriages and pregnancies, and poor road networks.

These issues contrast sharply with the high enrollment and attendance at IGF’s Childcare Nakwanya Community School in Orom East Subcounty, Kitgum District, where over 300 learners are enrolled in nursery and primary sections.

This success is attributed to the availability of a daily school feeding program, water, and other school activities, demonstrating the positive impact of such provisions in this hard-to-reach area.

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