NEBBI, April 18, 2024 – After failing to get assistance from government, parents of Nyarundier Primary School in Akworo Sub-county, Nebbi district, have decided to construct a temporary structure to decongest the overcrowded classrooms.
The makeshift structure roofed with papyrus mats is only meant to provide shade for the learners, even though there is fear that strong winds or heavy rains could pull it down, causing danger to the learners.
Meanwhile, many of the learners who have found it hard to tolerate the suffering at the school have either abandoned studies or crossed to the nearby schools in the DR-Congo.
Felix Obedgiu, one of the teachers at the school says inadequate classrooms force some pupils to stay out of school, hence making it hard for the teachers to cover the whole syllabus.
Obedgiu said the school has a total population of 1,387 learners, with P.1 and P.2 classes having 346, and 278 learners, respectively.
“Some times we have to send the infant classes home if we anticipate it is going to rain because there is no space to accommodate all the learners. The only option available is to send them home,” Obedgiu says.
One of the learners in P.1, Jonathan Omarmungu says sometimes they get drenched with rain just because there is not enough shelter at their school.
“We only enjoy our classes in the dry seasons but during rainy seasons, we spend much of our time at home,” Omarmungu says.
Commenting on the lack of enough classrooms in the district, the Inspector of Schools Nebbi, James Gwoktho says the demands for classroom blocks are overwhelming the district’s budget.
He adds Nebbi district used to get Shs 400 million every financial year for the construction of 2 classroom blocks and five stance latrines but the amount has been cut to Shs 150mln by the Ministry of Education and Sports [MoE&S].
“We have shortage of classrooms in the whole district with meager resources being sent from the Ministry [MoE&S]. That’s why the majority of schools with bigger populations are operating under the trees and makeshifts,” Gwoktho says, adding that some learners in different schools have their classes under trees.
He says to retain the learners in schools, Plan International, a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with the district has constructed classroom blocks and latrines in over six schools, helping the district to bridge the classroom gaps in some schools.
The programme coordinator Plan International, Nebbi, Elino Omachar says, there are several schools with high numbers of pupils.
He adds primary schools like Asili, Paminya, Ramogi and Alwala all in Nebbi district have increased pupil enrollments after getting more classroom blocks, meaning there is more to be done to retain the learners in schools.
In the same vein, one of the community members , Alfred Odongtho says they are concerned about the lack of enough classrooms in the schools, especially at Nyarundier Primary School where parents decided to construct a makeshift structure for the learners.
“We are trying our level best to provide alternatives to accommodate the learners by erecting makeshifts to decongest classrooms,” Odongtho said.
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