Parents of Ole Community Primary School in Omel ‘A’ village, Paicho Sub County in Gulu district have complained bitterly over the disruption of lessons of their children as they are forced to go and harvest grass for roofing their classrooms.
The two grass thatched semi permanent structures built by the community that houses seven classrooms requires repair every year.
The school was built in 2011 to ease the burden of young pupils and girls who are forced to walk for between three – five miles to access education.
Ms Christine Acayo, a parent at the school says the most affected are girls who are tasked with harvesting grass for the repair whenever the roofs are leaking.
Acayo noted that, “The boys too are not spared since they are tasked with repairing the dilapidating roof as well as looking for poles and rope for the refurbishment works.”
She says that this has greatly affected learning in the school since pupils’ valuable time is consumed during the annual repair exercise and asked the government to take over the school.
Another parent, Mr Michael Okello says under some circumstances, parents have also been contributing grass and poles but the burden of the work has negatively affected lessons at the school.
According to Okello, “Parents are now presenting signs of fatigue due to the constant construction work on the temporary structures.”
Mr Christopher Ongom, the area LC I Chairperson says every year, the parents and pupils will have to harvest between 125- 130 bundles of dry grass to fix the roof of one block.
Ongom noted that, “It has become a constant challenge since they do it every year.”
Mr Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the District LCV Chairperson who visited the school on Wednesday said they are aware of the problem and that it will be addressed.
He says plans are underway to get the school coded so that it becomes a government aided institution.
Mapenduzi revealed that, “I have been in touch with an American couple who have expressed willingness to help the school by building a permanent new structure worth US$ 30,000 (about UShs. 80M).”
So far, Mr David Mann and his wife Dana Mann from Texas, USA contributed and have built a four stance drainable latrine which is estimated to have cost around Shs15Million.
Mann and his family who have been visiting Uganda for the last 16 years in an interview on Wednesday commended the residents for their efforts to build a school and said the future needs educated people.
Mann who laid six bricks in December last year towards the construction of the latrine said he is hopeful that the community that was forced into the IDPs camps will rebuild their lives.
Ole Community Primary School started in July 2011 with 13 pupils with P1 and P2 but now the number has grown to 220 pupils.
The school will this year have seven candidates sitting for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
