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Mpigi, Kalungu officials ask govt to assist flood-hit schools
A man inspects one of the tents set up for Kamuwunga Primary School at the weekend. Leaders and school administrators in the districts of Kalungu and Mpigi have asked the government to support schools which were hit by floods early this year. Photo/Gertrude Mutyaba
What you need to know:
- District authorities have set up makeshift structures to allow learners to study.
- The Kalungu Resident District Commissioner, Mr Paddy Kayondo, said as leaders, they are doing everything possible to ensure that teaching resumes at the school
- Lwera swamp is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi, and Kalungu districts and drains directly into Lake Victoria
Leaders and school administrators in the districts of Kalungu and Mpigi have asked the government to support schools that were hit by floods early this year.
The leaders and school administrators say they have been forced to set up makeshift structures while some learners are studying under trees after the classrooms were destroyed by floods.
In Kalungu, Kamuwunga Primary School in Lukaya Town Council, which was closed on March 15, has yet to reopen, a week after schools reopened for the Second Term.
The school has more than 1,000 learners.
Mr Ronald Ssemanda, the chairperson of Kamuwunga Village, said both district and national leaders have not done enough to help the school.
“On our part, we are currently improvising tents which were secured from UNICEF to see that the learners can have lessons even though they did not complete the first term,” he said in an interview last Friday.
Mr John Mutagubya, the chairperson of the school management committee, said they are worried that Primary Seven candidates will not perform well in the Primary Leaving Examinations because they still have a lot to cover in the syllabus.
Parents have also raised concern over the poor state of roads leading to Kamuwunga Landing Site where the temporary classrooms are being set up, which they say were damaged by the floods.
The Kalungu Resident District Commissioner, Mr Paddy Kayondo, said as leaders, they are doing everything possible to ensure that teaching resumes at the school.
“We ask our teachers to return to Kamuwunga within the next two days since we have put in place some tents for the learners,” Mr Kayondo said.
The district chairperson, Mr Ahmed Nyombi Mukiibi, asked the government to provide them with equipment to dig trenches and allow water to flow.
“This water is a result of excessive excavation of sand and rice growing in Lwera swamp. If these activities are controlled, the people of Kamuwunga will settle peacefully like it was the case before,” he said.
In Mpigi, teachers at various schools in Kantini Parish, Kituntu Sub-County have resolved to conduct lessons under trees as classrooms remain uninhabitable after they were destroyed by floods last month.
The affected schools include Uganda Martyrs Primary School, and Cardinal Wamala Secondary School, which are both public schools, as well as St Andrew Kaggwa Primary School and Bright Star Primary, which are private institutions.
School administrators say they have not yet received any kind of relief assistance to enable them to renovate the destroyed classrooms.
At Uganda Martyrs Primary School, Primary Five, Six and Seven pupils share the remaining buildings while the rest sit under trees.
Ms Sylvia Kyomugisa, the head teacher of Uganda Martyrs Primary School, said the classrooms were destroyed on April 18.
“We have no option, but to improvise with tree shades because roofs of some classrooms were completely blown off and walls were weakened becoming uninhabitable,” she said.
Ms Kyomugisa said the school is also struggling to find accommodation for teachers whose houses were also destroyed by the rainstorm.
She the teachers are currently renting rooms in Kayabwe Town, which is 8 kilometres away from the school.
ABOUT LWERA SWAMP
Lwera swamp is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi, and Kalungu districts and drains directly into Lake Victoria.
Due to its strategic location on the Kampala-Masaka Highway, the swamp has attracted several investment companies and individuals who are engaging in sand mining, fish farming, and crop growing.
While addressing local leaders in Masaka District during a countrywide wealth creation tour on July 23, 2019, President Museveni warned rice growers in Lwera against destroying the wetland, saying it is kisirani (misfortune).
He said wetlands are part of public land, which should not be owned by individuals.
In 2020, State Minister for Environment Beatrice Anywar said those owning residential houses in Lwera had to vacate the wetland. However, people have refused to vacate wetlands.
