Africa-Press – Uganda. Students of Eastern College Chebinyiny Seed School in Kaptererwo Sub-County, Bukwo District face a possibility of not reporting back to school for the second term on Monday after the area Resident District Commissioner (RDC) halted the commissioning of the school on Thursday.
The school, which has 340 students, was constructed by the government to ease access to education in the area.
The RDC, Mr Samuel Mpimbaza Hashaka red flagged the school over alleged shoddy work, corruption and fraud. The Shs2.2 billion seed school was constructed under Phase One of the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UGIFT) programme by Bam Construction and Surveyors Limited.
The school was supposed to be commissioned by the Water and Environment minister, Mr Sam Cheptoris on behalf of the Education and Sports minister, Ms Janet Museveni.
“Our children will not have where to study from on Monday when the school opens because the contractor has closed the school,” Ms Ruth Chebet, a parent, said.
Mr Godfrey Musani, another parent, had no kind words for the RDC.
“We came here to witness the commissioning of our new school, but we are shocked to hear that the RDC has stopped the exercise and yet the school is complete,” Mr Musani said.
Ms Caroline Cherukut, a resident of Kokwo village, said girls in the area who trek long distances to access education services thought they had got a lucky break.
“Our girls have been defiled and others impregnated due to long distances,” Ms Cherukut said.
Ms Violet Chemutai, a female district councillor representing Kaptererwo Sub-County, said the community members are demanding for the handover of the school.
“I support the community to demand the school be commissioned. Government should intervene to have this school open,” Ms Chemutai said, adding that the shortage of secondary schools in the area has exacerbated the problem of teenage pregnancies, defilement and school dropout rate.
Government-aided schools
Bukwo District has 10 government-aided schools.
The district’s CAO, Mr Charles Robert Ogwang, and the district engineer in-charge of building, Mr Joel Cheptegei, both confirmed that construction work at the seed school is complete.
“The school has no defects. We have retained 10 percent of the contract sum for six months to work on any defects, if any,” Mr Cheptegei said.
The Bukwo District Education Officer (DEO), Mr Fred Twalla Sokuton, said the Ministry of Education, cancelled the commissioning after someone raised a complaint that the school is not complete. He said parents protested at the district demanding the handover of the school.
“We are worried, when it comes on Monday, where are these children going to study from? We are in a dilemma because the contractor will not allow us to use the classroom before the handover,” Mr Sokuton said.
The managing director of Bam Construction and Surveyors Limited, Mr Bernard Wetaka, confirmed closing the school after the government stopped the commissioning.
“I have locked all the classroom blocks and other blocks after the concerned officials stopped the exercise. I was ready to hand over the school, but some leaders are fighting the school,” Mr Wetaka said.
Mr Hashaka on his part puts the closure down to a litany of issues ranging from “shoddy work” to “fraud.”
“We got reports that some technical people in the district were part of fraud. They (technical people) supplied furniture and they also played other games,” Mr Hashaka said, adding that the police “has started investigating the matter.”
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