Michael Kitutu, the head teacher of the school, says the school has a challenge of teachers who haven’t been paid since the school started. He says parents tried to contribute some money for teachers in the nursery section but failed along the way.
It is
now 8 months since a primary school was set up in Bunambutye resettlement camp
in Bulambuli district.
The school, which operates in a big tarpaulin, was set
up to provide temporary space for learners displaced from landslide prone areas
as government plan for better facilities.
Located
in Bunambutye resettlement camp, the school serves over 1050 pupils from nursery
to primary seven. However, the teachers haven’t received a penny since the
school set up in June last year.
Michael
Kitutu, the head teacher of the school, says the school has a challenge of
teachers who haven’t been paid since the school started.
He says parents tried
to contribute some money for teachers in the nursery section but failed along
the way. According
to Kitutu, the biggest challenge is that the school hasn’t been coded, which
means they can’t receive Universal Primary Education-UPE funds.
He explains
that the teachers are uncertain about their stay at the school since they were
posted orally without appointment letters.
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in: “And the challenge…
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Teachers
who preferred anonymity told URN that since they joined the school in June last
year, they only received Shillings 50,000 as salary and are now struggling to
cope with the situation.
“At the beginning life was good; we were given Shillings
50,000 and later Shillings 20,000 in the next month. From that time we have not
received anything and the authorities keep telling us that we wait for the
coding of the school” one of the teachers said.
“We have been managing as individuals and
depending on the support of parents and the neighboring communities” added
another.
Rehema Mulongo, the General Secretary Bunambutye resettlement camp decried the conditions,
under which the school is operating. She says the tarpaulin, which acts as
classrooms is congested and has started getting torn.
//Cue in: “But our children..…
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URN has since learnt that the money meant for
coding the school was allegedly swindled by the Bulambuli district Officials.
Last month, Police arrested two district officials including Judith
Nagudi, the Bulambuli Chief Accountant and District Education Officer, Abraham
Wagwasala for allegedly misusing Shillings 50 Million meant for coding the
school to allow it access UPE funds.
Efforts to reach the Bulambuli District
Education Officer for a comment were futile as his known phone number was off. However,
during the second phase of the relocation of the landslide victims to
Bunambutye camp, Rose Nakabugo, the Assistant Commissioner in Charge of
Disaster Preparedness and Management told journalists that the office of the
Prime Minister is aware of the challenges the school is facing and they were
devising means of sorting them out.
“There are some few challenges here and there
for example teachers haven’t been paid their salaries but these are things we
shall discuss with the ministry of education and we will sort them out soon”
she said.
Kirinya Ayubu is the URN Bureau Chief of Elgon/Bukedi Sub Regions . He holds a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communication from Islamic University in Uganda and a Diploma in Computer Science and Information Technology from the same University.
