Amos Olal Odur, the former Academic Registrar of Makerere University who is now the chairperson Alebtong District Service Commission castigated parents for taking Universal Primary and Secondary Education to be free education. He said government cannot provide everything for every learner and so parents must take up the mantle of educating their children.
Educationists
in Lango have rallied parents to prioritize
their children's education instead of waiting for the government.
For 30
years, over 50 parishioners of Gutau in Austria have supported the education of disadvantaged people in Lango through the Apala Widows
and Orphanage Center (AWOC), a community-based organization in Apala Town Council
Alebtong district. Their support has seen over 600 students complete education at various levels.
On Friday, beneficiaries met for the first
time during a one-day symposium under the theme: "Empowering Communities
and Shaping the Future through Education for Social-economic Transformation and
Development."
The
discussion rotated around best education practices, the importance of grassroots
educational mobilization, and how best parents can be involved in the education
of their children.
Alois Via,
a representative of the donors, said the people in Gutau, Austria, with great
commitment, have achieved more prosperity which enabled children and young
people to receive education which is their priority. He encouraged the people
of Apala to carry out the mantle of ensuring that children go to and complete their studies.
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In Apala
Town Council, most of the learners drop out at the primary level. For instance, this
year there are 2,665 pupils in the two primary schools in the area but only 425
students enrolled in Apala secondary school, showing a significant drop in enrollment.
Collins Alunga, the Town Clerk attributed all this
to factors like early marriages and poor infrastructure.
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Amos Olal
Odur, the former Academic Registrar of Makerere University who is now the
chairperson of Alebtong District Service Commission castigated parents for taking
Universal Primary and Secondary Education to be free education. He said the government cannot provide everything for every learner.
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just means…
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...needs to study.”//
He said
parents in Lango should consider educating their children as a gift which they
will treasure for the rest of their lives.
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neighbourhood to school.”//
James
Acai, the Chairperson of the Lango Development Forum believes that without the
involvement of parents, children will not study and in the long run traditional
schools will collapse. He wants parents to get fully involved in the education
of their children.
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even the government.”//
Dr Alex
Okot, the former Moroto County Member of Parliament said
the beneficiaries of this program are mostly students who dropped out of school
due to lack of school fees. This gave birth to the idea which has seen many
students accessing education.
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James
Akung Wapakagulu, a resident of Apala Town Council acknowledged that education
has remained a centre stage for development, which everybody must take keen
interest in. A group of beneficiaries of AWOC are raising their own money to
support the next cohort of beneficiaries in the next Education calendar.
Felix
Adupa Ongwech, Minister of Science, innovation and Technology under Lango
Cultural Foundation (LCF) argued that there is a need to engage all education
stakeholders to ensure that children study.
