{UAH} Two injured as teachers flee collapsing staff houses Teachers of Pioneer Primary School, a government-aided school, have started fleeing the dilapidated teachers’ houses that are posing a great danger to their lives. PHOTO BY SIMON EMWAMU ADVERTISEMENT By GEORGE MURON SOROTI. Teachers of Pioneer Primary School, a government-aided school, have started fleeing the dilapidated teachers’ houses that are posing a great danger to their lives. The teachers are now stranded and have nowhere to stay. The school’s head teacher, Mr John Omuut, said in an interview yesterday that six teachers have so far left the staff quarters whose rooms have cracked. He said falling tiles and concrete have so far injured two teachers and destroyed breakable house properties in the last one month. Mr Omuut identified teachers who have fled as Joseph Omoot, Eugine Opus, Albert Charles Eilu, Mary Florence Apeduno, Edith Achom and John Robert Echaku. He said the staff quarters, which were constructed in

Steady progress 

Two injured as teachers flee collapsing staff houses



Teachers of Pioneer Primary School, a government-aided school, have started fleeing the dilapidated teachers' houses that are posing a great danger to their lives. PHOTO BY SIMON EMWAMU 

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By GEORGE MURON
SOROTI. Teachers of Pioneer Primary School, a government-aided school, have started fleeing the dilapidated teachers' houses that are posing a great danger to their lives.
The teachers are now stranded and have nowhere to stay.
The school's head teacher, Mr John Omuut, said in an interview yesterday that six teachers have so far left the staff quarters whose rooms have cracked.
He said falling tiles and concrete have so far injured two teachers and destroyed breakable house properties in the last one month.
Mr Omuut identified teachers who have fled as Joseph Omoot, Eugine Opus, Albert Charles Eilu, Mary Florence Apeduno, Edith Achom and John Robert Echaku.
He said the staff quarters, which were constructed in 1939 and 1954, are no longer habitable as most of them have roofs that are giving way to old age.
"Whenever it rains, the eight remaining teachers have to dry their beddings. This makes their teaching environment hard," Mr Omuut explained.
He added that some teachers have already requested him to support their transfer requests.

Threat to lives
Mr Omuut added that even the other classroom blocks have had their roofs cave in and are a threat to the lives of pupils.
Ms Catherine Achan, one of the affected teachers, narrated to Daily Monitor how she has endured the pain of spending nights in a dilapidated building, since her salary does not come on time and it is too meagre to afford a descent accommodation elsewhere.
"You cannot rest your head to sleep whenever it rains at night, you have to stay awake to protect your property. If not, you will lose everything to dripping water," she confirmed.
Ms Achan added that the pit-latrines at the staff quarters are also filled up and the stench they emit causes discomfort.
The acting Principal Education Officer for Soroti Municipality, Mr Patrick Emokor, said the problem in Pioneer Primary School is beyond their capacity.
"The municipality alone cannot handle it, we only depend on local revenue collections and of which Pioneers' problem is three quarters bigger than what is always collected," he explained.
He said the state of staff quarters needs more than Shs800 million, which money can only be footed by the central government.

Govt speaks out

Mr Alex Kakooza, the Education ministry permanent secretary, argues that local governments, under the decentralisation system, can use the capitalisation grants and school facilitation grants from the central government to build staff quarters. "Government does not send direct funds for constructing staff quarters for primary schools, but districts are supposed to be good planners in regard to the SFG and capitation grants. Our policy has been to facilitate construction of classrooms for at least one primary school per parish. Through prioritisation, staff quarters and pit-latrines can be extended to schools that are in dire need. It is possible to help schools get staff quarters, although this may not cover all public schools," he says.

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