President Museveni is wearing a negative face towards education stakeholders in Bukedi subregion whom he accuses of failing his free Education program.
According to him, extra costs occasioned on pupils in government schools is forcing many of them in this area not join secondary school.
To be exact, Museveni suggested that 82% kids in this subregion drop out of school by PLE time.
He thus cautioned stakeholders in government schools against charging fees from the children of vulnerable Ugandans.
“Due to such fees, 82 percent of the children in Bukedi are dropping out of school by Primary Seven. I’m tired of beseeching you, I’m going to sit and leave you, that’s why I introduced the Presidential Industrial Hubs,” he fumed.
The President reminded the locals in this subregion that the government has done all it could to push Ugandans out of poverty. He cited some of the initiatives including NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation, PDM and Emyooga.
He called upon leaders to mobilize their voters to take advantage of such poverty alleviation programs.
“If you are rich, you can do your own development such as having solar power, water harvesting, paying school fees for your children in private schools and private hospitals.” he guided.
He also cautioned them against encroaching on wetlands by shifting from rice growing in swamps to fish farming at the edges of the wetlands.
He reassured them of the government’s continued support to boost the Parish Development Model (PDM), an initiative aimed at helping Ugandans who are still in the subsistence economy join the money economy.
Museveni made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kamuge Playground, Kamuge Town Council, Pallisa District as part of his performance assessment tour on PDM and wealth creation in the Bukedi sub region.
The President also reiterated his call to the people of Bukedi to embrace commercial agriculture with “ekibaro” in order to transform their livelihoods.
He said this can be done through the 4 acre-model where they can use one acre to grow coffee, the second acre for fruits, the third acre for pasture for dairy cows, and the fourth acre for food crops. “Then in the backyard, a farmer can do poultry, piggery and fish farming in ponds” he said adding that people of Bukedi can also add cocoa and Palm Oil to the seven activities.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, commended President Museveni for being a strong advocate of progress and development.
She said the President has initiated several programs that have helped to improve the livelihoods of Ugandans.
Museveni’s assessment on the education challenges in Bukedi rhymes very well with research made by Iki-Iki County MP aspirant Mujomba Sam Gagi who urged him to address acute needs in the education sector within Budaka district, which is one of the seven districts making Bukedi.
He noted that out of the 76 parishes in the whole district, 26 of them do not have government primary school while eight sub-counties out of the 20; are without a secondary school.
“In this year’s UACE exams, the entire Budaka district has about 800 students sitting Senior Six finals. In Iki-Iki County alone, we have merely 189 candidates. This clearly shows that the President is spot on in his assessment of the UPE completion rate. The drop out rates are indeed high mainly in Budaka district” he said.
Mujomba commended the President for making time to visit Budaka district and Iki-Iki County in particular where he visited one of the prominent farmers in Kamonkoli, saying his visit morale boosted locals’ resolve to join the money economy through embracing all government programs including PDM and Emyooga.
