He decried the belated UPE releases from the centre, and noted that they depend on good relationships with service providers who give them scholastic materials on loan and patiently wait for payment when government funds come.
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As the 2026 academic year kicked off, Mukono primary school heads are sounding the alarm over low learner turnout and crumbling infrastructure.
At St. Andrew Kaggwa Kichwa Primary School located in Nama sub-county, only 53 of 300 which the school closed the year with showed up, while Kiyunga Islamic Primary School in Kyampisi sub-county saw 254 of 839 learners report.
Francis Malaba, the headteacher of Kichwa Primary School noted that more teachers than learners turned up, and ruled out the possibility that school fees could have been the cause. “This is a government school not affected by school fees nonpayment,” he noted.
The headteacher for Kiyunga Islamic Primary School, Yusuf Kalibbala said that only 254 of the 839 learners reported on the opening day, although all teachers and support staff were in attendance. Kalibbala also hinted at the dilapidated and hazardous structures all in need of total rehabilitation.
He decried the belated UPE releases from the centre, and noted that they depend on good relationships with service providers who give them scholastic materials on loan and patiently wait for payment when government funds come.
Stephenson Kalyango the headmaster for Kisowera Primary School in Nama sub-county said that the beginning number on day one was low at 129 pupils out of the over 500 pupils which the school closed last year with.
Like the first headteachers, he decried late UPE releases from the centre which he said pushes them to rely on rapport with service providers to extend usables on loans, and the inter-personal relations with service providers waiting to be paid when the government makes good its releases to schools.
He emphasized the point of non-collection of any form of fees from parents save for money for preparing meals for children which he said is an agreed upon pre-arrangement by parents and the school, to save the children from the problem of studying on empty stomachs.
The Mukono Municipality Town Clerk, Francis Byabagambi, warned parents to send their children to school, threatening to reallocate funds to schools with low enrollment. A head count is set for next week to determine funding allocations.
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