In this current quarter of the financial year, the Oyam District Local Government Department of Education has received funding amounting to UGX 689,592,176 as a reward from the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development.
This sum of money has been awarded following exceptional performance in the national assessment. In the last financial year, the Education Department of Oyam District was ranked 22nd in the country. This money was disbursed without specific guidelines and is intended solely for school activities.
Out of this total, UGX 384,108,176 has been allocated for the renovation of two classrooms blocks with offices and the supply of desks to various primary schools in Oyam District. The schools benefiting from the classroom renovations and new offices are Aber Primary School, Odike Primary School, Omele Primary School, and Adili Primary School.
Additionally, several schools have been allocated budgets for the procurement of desks: Aber, Odike, Omele, and Adili Primary Schools will each receive 33 desks, while Adigo, Alyce, Ariba, and Awangi Primary Schools will each receive 24 seater desks.
Another UGX 305,484,000 has been proposed for various educational purposes, including monitoring primary schools, conducting secondary school inspections, capacity building, examinations and assessments, education management services, sports, and special needs education.
Beatrice Okello, the Secretary of Education and Sports for Oyam District Local Government, expressed that the funding arrived at a crucial time, alleviating the desk shortages in primary schools and enabling the renovation of deteriorating school buildings.
Reports indicate that many Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Oyam District are grappling with desk shortages, forcing pupils, especially those in lower classes, to sit on the floor during lessons despite these schools having an enrollment of over 1,000 pupils.