Govt-aided school spends 16 years without doing PLE
Pupils at Kuka primary school studying under a tree due to inadequate classrooms. Photos | Longino Muhindo.
What you need to know:
- The head teacher, Mr Abyongya Mufungeni, said the school has only four teachers with an enrolment of 500 pupils who study in three incomplete classroom blocks built by the government in 2008.
Kuka Primary School, a government-aided school located in Mirambi Sub-county, Bundibugyo District has failed to enroll any pupil in Primary Seven to sit for Primary Leaving Examinations in the last 16 years.
School authorities revealed that pupils stop in Primary Six and join other schools for their Primary Seven studies because they have few teachers and classrooms for learners.
The school, which was taken over by the government in 2002 after it was established by community members, last had 11 pupils sitting for Primary Leaving Examinations in 2006, with all the pupils passing in Division Two.
The head teacher, Mr Abyongya Mufungeni, said the school has only four teachers with an enrolment of 500 pupils who study in three incomplete classroom blocks built by the government in 2008.
“We had our last PLE sitting in 2006, at that time, there were 11 pupils and they all passed in Division Two with the best scoring Aggregate 13. We are trying to revive our Primary Seven class this year. We have convinced three pupils who have reported in P7,” Mr Mufungeni said.
Last year, the school had an enrolment of 546 pupils with the Primary Six class having 26. Mr Mufungeni said only three classes (P1-P3) are studying in classrooms while the rest of the pupils study under trees and the neighbouring church.
“We have informed all the district stakeholders including the District Education Officer several times about the challenges of inadequate staff, structures and furniture, but we’re yet to get a response. This is the reason we have decided to recruit two support staff to enhance our manpower and we have asked parents to make sure they facilitate them,” Mr Mufungeni said.
The other challenges the school is facing include having only one pit-latrine shared by the entire school and fewer desks .
One of the pupils, Benerd Asaba, in P.4, said they always feel ashamed to share one pit-latrine with teachers.
“Sometimes, I fear going there because I will find teachers. The learning environment is not good at all,” he said.
The Budibugyo District Education Officer, Mr John Byamukama, said they are aware of the school’s challenges and their plan is to construct more classroom blocks in the Financial Year 2023 to 2024.
