Butaleja RDC Warns of Crackdown on Learners Skipping School.

By Ambrose Wanagoli.

Butaleja District — The Butaleja Resident District Commissioner (RDC), David Kulaba Isabirye, has warned that an operation will soon be launched against learners who have remained at home while their classmates continue attending lessons.

Speaking on Thursday, Isabirye said intelligence reports indicate that a number of school-going children in the district are still staying away from school despite the academic term having progressed beyond the halfway mark.

According to the RDC, some of the learners are reportedly spending their time working in gardens, helping their parents with domestic chores, or digging for money instead of attending classes.

Isabirye cautioned that beginning next week, authorities will take firm action against both the learners and parents responsible for keeping children out of school.

He said the district leadership is determined to enforce school attendance and ensure that all children of school-going age are in classrooms.

“I will lay an iron hand on such lazy learners and their parents who have chosen to ignore the school calendar,” he warned.

The RDC also revealed plans to intensify monitoring of government-aided schools across the district. The inspections will focus on hygiene standards, accommodation capacity for learners, and the adequacy of teaching staff.

Following the announcement, journalists moved across parts of the district to assess the current situation in schools.

Among the institutions visited on Thursday were Bugosa Primary School, Bunghaji Primary School, and Busaba Project Primary School, where headteachers reported serious challenges in accommodating the growing number of learners due to limited infrastructure.

School administrators said overcrowding has forced them to conditionally stream classes, a measure they admit complicates the teaching and learning process.

In several classrooms, pupils were visibly congested, leaving teachers with very limited space to effectively conduct lessons.

At Busaba Project Primary School, the headteacher, Lam Moses Mungholo, raised concerns about sanitation facilities at the school.

Mungholo revealed that teachers currently share pit latrines with pupils, a situation he says compromises their privacy and sometimes leads to disrespect from learners.

He added that the school has only five latrine stances serving a population of more than 1,000 pupils.

“Two of the toilets filled up, and we have tried to respond, but the efforts have not been successful,” Mungholo explained.

Meanwhile, Janet Nafula, the headteacher of Bunghaji Primary School, said the school urgently needs at least five additional latrine stances to improve sanitation.

She noted that during break time, many pupils are forced to line up for long periods while waiting to use the few available facilities.

Education stakeholders in the district say the infrastructure gaps, coupled with absenteeism among learners, remain key challenges affecting effective learning in government-aided schools.

Meanwhile, the RDC maintains that enforcement measures and closer monitoring will help improve school attendance and conditions in Butaleja.