Kachanga Seed Secondary School in Bufumira sub-county, Kalangala district is struggling to attract students despite huge investments in infrastructure.
The Ministry of Education and Sports through the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer-UgiFT program with a loan from the World Bank, injected Shillings 2.125illion in the construction of Kachanga Seed Secondary School to expand the Universal Secondary Education-USE program in the Islands.
Despite the dire need for secondary education in the area, two years after the seed school was constructed, it is struggling to attract students.
According to a report by Friday Kyomya, the Kalangala Chief Administrative Officer the school is currently operating with nine students, hence being underutilized.
He indicates that given its geographical location on an island, the targeted students find it difficult to access the schools due to transport challenges.
Kyomya urges the government to give the area special consideration to allow the school to operate a boarding section, as a way of attracting and retaining students.
He indicates that the school expected to draw students from the 15 outlying islands in Kyamuswa County, but these cannot regularly attend classes due to lack of reliable transport means, and as a result, children remain trapped in fishing activities as opposed to education.
Emmanuel Nseko, the Kalangala District Education Officer observes that the students are staying away because they cannot afford the cost of transport.
He indicates that some of the parents in the area have continued to take their children to boarding schools on the mainland in Masaka district as the best alternative, other than seeking education in Kalangala district, where it is not cost-effective.
He adds that they have found it challenging to move around the different islands to mobilize communities to utilize the school, because of the limited facilitation allocated to the department.
But the Ministry of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni, while officiating at the Founders Day of Samson Kaliba Memorial Secondary School in Rakai district last month, indicated the government is not ready to take up the responsibility of sustaining students in boarding schools.
She advised that where the need arises, the parents should work out a framework and sign formal commitments that they will meet the costs of maintenance and taking care of boarding students once the government allows them to start accommodating students at school.
She noted that the government operates on the policy of having public Primary and Secondary schools at the Parish and Sub-county levels respectively, which allows for deliberate sharing of responsibilities of taking care of the children with parents as opposed to relinquishing them solely to the government, which already has other competing pressing demands.