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Primary Seven candidates relocated due to floods
A motorcyclist rides through a flooded section of a road in Kamutur Sub-county. Most roads in the area are inaccessible due to floods
Primary seven candidates in Kamutur Sub-county in Bukedea District have been relocated to Kolir Sub-county due to a poor road network in the area and floods that have made their examination centre inaccessible.
The candidates are scheduled to sit for their Primary Leaving Examination on Monday and Tuesday.
Kamutur Sub-county has only one examination centre at Kamutur Primary School where 58 candidates registered.
The candidates will be required to stay at Kolir Primary School for two days because they cannot cover a distance of 10 kilometres to access the emergency examination centre.
Bukedea District Education Officer, Mr Michael Otur, says parents meet the cost of feeding the candidates.
He said they relocated the candidates because there is no way examination scripts could be taken to in Kamutur Sub-county where most roads have been cut off by floods.
“We had no choice but to relocate these children to a safer environment from Kamutur which is full of disaster. All the classes are full of water including the UNEB centre where the candidates are supposed to be examined,” he said.
He said the decision to relocate the candidates was agreed upon by district leaders in consultation with the Uganda National Examinations Board to avoid risks associated with transportation examination papers to inaccessible areas.
Mr Otur said during the recent mass immunisation exercise, vehicles got stuck on their way to the sub county to deliver vaccines.
He, however, said the relocation of the candidates to a new centre may affect their performance.
Mr Jackson Ojakede, the Kamutur Sub county chairperson, says education in the area has been impeded by the poor roads affected by floods.
Mr Samuel Owinyi, a parent from Tajar parish said district officials asked parents to contribute Shs 20,000 for each child for transport from Kamutur Sub-county to Kolir Sub-county.
