Speaking at a press conference held at Lukhobo Hall in Mbale District, Diducus Okoth, the Principal Communication Officer at UBOS, said the census will continue in the Central region before moving to Eastern Uganda and eventually covering the entire country.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has resumed the nationwide Baseline Education Census (BEC) exercise. The exercise, which was officially launched by the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, on May 7, had been temporarily suspended due to the end of the first school term.
Speaking at a press conference held at Lukhobo Hall in Mbale District, Diducus Okoth, the Principal Communication Officer at UBOS, said the census will continue in the Central region before moving to Eastern Uganda and eventually covering the entire country. Okoth explained that UBOS teams will visit government and private primary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher learning to collect education-related data.
Tom Musungu, the Mbale District Public Relations Officer, told reporters that teachers will support the process by collecting data for learners from nursery to Primary Five. The information will include each child's age, the parents’ National Identification Number (NIN), name, and date of birth.
He added that students in Primary Six and above will be individually interviewed to provide their age, their parents’ NIN, and other relevant details. Musungu emphasized that the census aims to accurately establish the number of children enrolled in both public and private schools to better inform government planning and resource allocation.
Casim Namugali, the Mayor of Mbale City, appealed to the public and all schools to cooperate fully with UBOS field officers and to provide accurate data to support national education policy development. Asumin Nasike, the Resident City Commissioner for Mbale, issued a stern warning to anyone who may attempt to obstruct the exercise.
“Anyone who hides children or resists the program will be arrested,” she cautioned. The Baseline Education Census seeks to tackle issues such as the existence of “ghost pupils” and teachers, which have in the past resulted in significant financial losses to taxpayers and hampered effective service delivery in the education sector.
Weswa Ronnie
Freelancer