By Chris Woo
Oyam, Uganda – At least 10,000 pupils drop out of school annually in Oyam District.
This one was revealed during a one-day stakeholders’ engagement meeting held at the Oyam District Council hall recently.
David Adea, the acting district education officer, said the school dropout rate stands at 20.1%, with girls accounting for 64% and boys 36%.
He said this equates to over 10,000 dropouts annually due to challenges such as lack of midday meals, insufficient parental support and an unfavorable teacher-to-pupil ratio, which averages 1:75, with some schools reaching as high as 1:150.
Adea says this requires urgent intervention from various stakeholders, including the government.
Beatrice Auma Okello, Secretary for Education and Sports in the Oyam District local government, applauded development partners for their contributions.
“Their excellent work, particularly in the education and health sectors, supplements the government’s efforts in providing quality education and health services,” Auma said.
Okello urged development partners, such as Link to Progress, FICH and others, to extend their efforts to sub-counties like Abok, which are severely affected by school dropouts but have limited NGO support.
She also called for balanced attention to the education of boys and girls, saying that more effort is being put into girls’ education, which is causing boys to lag behind.
Auma also pledged full political support to partners working to improve education performance and encouraged stakeholders to raise awareness through community sensitization efforts.
Joel Ojedra, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Oyam, challenged stakeholders to address their action points and investigate factors contributing to poor performance.
“Low staffing levels are one of the major issues affecting education performance. Stakeholders must collaborate and adopt innovative approaches to address these challenges,” Ojedra said.
Wilson Ogweng, Vice Chairperson LC3 of Acaba Sub-county, appreciated the engagement and its potential positive impact on education, which he believes will contribute significantly to improving education in the sub-county.
Ogweng pledged to use lower local council leaders to sensitize the community about school dropouts.
He identified challenges like poor road conditions for learners, low parental support, theft and vandalism of school property as major issues affecting education in his sub-county.
