Napak District, Uganda – A section of educationists in the Karamoja region have heaped a lot of praise on the government for the construction of seed secondary schools in Karamoja, describing it as another step towards seeing Karamoja develop.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Mr. Joel Lokut, one of the educationists, said the rate at which the government is constructing seed schools using serious Ugandan contractors such as Adler Construction Company Limited will see the structures last for a long period.
Now Mr. Lokut challenges politicians to rally the public to make good use of the structures by taking their children to study in schools within Karamoja.
“I’m impressed by the work done by one of the contractors, Adler Construction Company Limited, that has done wonderful work in Iriiri, Loro, and Katikekile seed secondary schools. What I’m impressed by is the quality of work and patience, unlike other contractors who have abandoned similar projects,” he said.
Moses Kinei, another educationist, also appealed to the Ministry of Public Service to recruit teachers who are ready to render services to the people of Karamoja, especially in education.
According to Mr. Kinei, most times teachers apply to the Ministry of Public Service to teach in Karamoja schools, but after entering the system, some don’t even report to the schools they are posted to, leaving the region with a big teaching gap.
“With all the beautiful school structures in place, there’s no need for Karamoja to continue lagging behind in terms of education,” he said.
Betty Nale, another education lover, appealed to the government to also plan for dormitories to be constructed in the newly built schools so that students can be protected from harm.
“What we are seeing is just classrooms, but we also need dormitories so that students can remain in school and complete their education,” she said.
According to Nale, districts like Amudat, where girls are married off at the age of 13 years, need to keep girls in school until they finish.
