Minister Aber urged to fast-track construction of Pandwong Seed Secondary School
She added that what remains now is to accelerate the implementation process so that the project can commence without further delay.
Kitgum: The Kitgum Municipal Council has appealed to Hon. Lillian Aber, the State Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Refugees, to expedite the construction of Pandwong Seed Secondary School under the Ministry of Education and Sports.
According to Richard Kibwota Okidi, the Principal Education Officer for Kitgum Municipality, the project is vital for promoting co-education in the area, which currently has only one government grant-aided secondary school.
“Presently, the municipality has only one government grant-aided secondary school, YY Okot Memorial College, which is an all-girls institution. This leaves boys without access to affordable secondary education,” Okidi said.
Okidi further noted that the absence of a co-educational government school has contributed to a high dropout rate among boys, leaving many vulnerable to recruitment by criminal gangs.
He added that private schools in the municipality charge high tuition fees that remain unaffordable for many families still recovering from the socioeconomic impacts of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency.
The appeal was made during the handover of more than 2,000 mathematical sets to candidates sitting for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) within Kitgum Municipality. The event was held at Christian Community Church in Central Division.
In response, Hon. Lillian Aber, who also serves as the Woman Member of Parliament for Kitgum District, reassured the Municipal Council that construction of the school had already been approved and would begin soon.
“The issue of Pandwong Seed Secondary School was concluded long ago. Construction will begin any time to address the challenge of the lack of a government grant-aided secondary school in Kitgum Municipality and to reduce boy-child dropouts,” Minister Aber said.
She added that what remains now is to accelerate the implementation process so that the project can commence without further delay.
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