The Minister of Education and Sports, Ms. Janet Museveni, has announced that her ministry will examine a request made by the management committee of Samson Kalibbala Kamya Memorial Seed Secondary School to establish a girls’ boarding section.
The government policy states that all seed schools should be tuition-free day schools, ensuring that students from financially disadvantaged families have access to education.
However, during the launch of Samson Kalibbala Kamya Memorial Seed Secondary School Founders Day, Ms. Museveni explained that if the school’s management and parents desire a boarding section, they should be prepared to cover the additional costs associated with it.
Ms. Museveni clarified, “Setting up a boarding section is not an issue, but it entails more responsibilities. If children are to reside at the school, and the community is willing to provide them with meals, then we can proceed with building the dormitory. We will discuss this at the sector level and establish a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education and the local community to determine respective responsibilities. It’s crucial to ensure that children receive breakfast, lunch, and other necessary amenities. We don’t want to receive complaints about students not having food when it has been agreed upon.”
Ms. Museveni’s response came after the school management and parents raised concerns about a high dropout rate among girls due to the long distances they have to travel to attend school.
In her report, Ms. Beti Kamya, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and chairperson of the school’s board of governors, noted that the institution still faces challenges such as a lack of clean water and a school bus.
The school was originally constructed by Ms. Kamya’s late father, Samson Kalibbala Kamya, before the government assumed its management in 2016. Ms. Museveni expressed gratitude to the Kamya family for donating eight acres of land on which the school is located.
Currently, the school has 844 students and employs 45 teachers, with 20 of them on the government payroll.
Ms. Museveni reiterated the government’s commitment to establishing a seed secondary school in every sub-county. To date, nearly 100 new seed secondary schools have been constructed across various sub-counties in the country.
Funded by the World Bank, the government initially planned to construct 117 seed schools in the first phase. However, some sub-counties reportedly failed to secure the five acres of land required for school construction.
Unlike some schools under the universal secondary scheme, the new seed schools are well-equipped with libraries, science laboratories, ICT facilities, staff housing, modern toilets, and other amenities.