Senior Reporter
Bukiro Seed Secondary School in Kashari South, Mbarara district, has come under scrutiny following reports that students are leaving the school due to a lack of electricity and the loss of school computers.
The head teacher of Bukiro Seed Secondary School, Ms. Nuwagaba Maureen Ndyabawe, confirmed the situation, stating that the local MP, Hon. Nathan Twesigye Itungo, had received a transformer from the Ministry of Energy, as indicated in a letter dated January 23, 2024. The letter, addressed to Hon. Nathan Twesigye Itungo and copied to the head teacher, was from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Irene Bateebe.
Regarding the decrease in enrollment, Ms. Nuwagaba Ndyabawe explained that the school had expected to enroll up to six hundred students but currently had 580, which she considered a good turnout.
She appealed to the government to provide another transformer to the school while efforts to locate the missing one continued. Ms. Nuwagaba Ndyabawe emphasized the urgent need for electricity to facilitate the teaching of ICT, which is now a central component of the new lower secondary curriculum.
Currently, the school is renting generators and raising funds from parents to support computer classes with the remaining thirteen computers. Each student is required to pay Shs 10,000 for solar extension and Shs 20,000 as a contribution to the construction of a classroom block, which is urgently needed to accommodate the increasing number of students.
Ms. Nuwagaba Maureen highlighted that these additional costs are burdensome for parents given the socioeconomic situation of the community served by the school.
When contacted for comment on the challenges facing Bukiro Seed Secondary School, including the loss of the transformer, the Mayor of Bukiro town council, Kashari South, Mbarara district, Tom Karuhanga, appealed to the State House Anti-corruption Unit to take legal action against MP Nathan Twesigye Itungo.
The Chairperson of the Board of Governors of Bukiro Seed Secondary School, Mr. George William Tibaijuka, expressed regret over the incidents, describing them as unfortunate. He expressed concern that if the government does not intervene to address the insecurity, it could undermine all the progress that has been made.
Despite several attempts to reach him, Hon. Nathan Twesigye Itungo did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
