Monkeys, snakes take over Ugandan school

Nakaseke school uganda

Nakaseke District officials inspect the school on October 24, 2021. 

Photo credit: Dan Wandera | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The school’s closure comes nearly a decade after the government invested a colossal sum of money in constructing and repairing classroom blocks, procuring reading materials and recruiting new teaching staff.

Monkeys, snakes, rats and other wild creatures have taken over what used to be a public primary school in Central Uganda.

So bad is the invasion that that authorities in Nakaseke District are considering permanently closing Gomero Primary School.  

A peep through one of the school's glass windows reveals office furniture left behind, textbooks, a wall clock and other materials that bring back memories of a once-functional school.

According to district chairperson Ignatius Kiwanuka Koomu, the school's code has been offered to another institution that had no government code.

“We have also transferred the teachers to other schools. Our effort to save the school hit a dead end. The parents failed to cooperate,” he said during an interview on Monday.

The school’s closure comes nearly a decade after the government invested a colossal sum of money in constructing and repairing classroom blocks, procuring reading materials and recruiting new teaching staff.

Nakaseke school uganda

A building that used to house the school office and staffroom. 

Photo credit: Dan Wandera | Nation Media Group

Mr Kenneth Nyebaza, a former pupil at Gomero between 2002 and 2006, explained that all efforts to save the school from closure by government and a handful of parents hit a dead end in February 2020 when the school academic year opened with a total enrollment of only six pupils.

“Gomero Primary School had permanent teachers on government payroll including the head teacher, but the total enrolment kept declining as parents opted to have their children study from schools that perhaps had a better academic standard among other reasons best known to them,” Mr Nyebaze, also a resident of Gomero Village said.

Mr Adam Mujuni, a parent and resident of Gomero Village, claims that both the parents and district officials share the blame for failing to maintain the academic standard of the school. 

“I believe that the explanation relating to poor academic performance is farfetched and not the core reason for the school's low enrolment...At one time, that school had over 400 pupils and a promising future for our children. The community and the district leaders owe us a detailed report relating to its downfall,” he said.

Mr Gordon Musinguzi, the Nakaseke District youth chairperson believes that the decision by district authorities to permanently close Gomero Primary School paints a bad picture of the region's education sector.

Report by Dan Wandera