Two schools conduct classes under the shade of trees in Ibanda

Students of two primary schools in Ibanda District are studying under trees after winds ripped the roofs off their classrooms.

Last week, the roofs of three classroom blocks at Mushunga Primary School in Ishongororo Sub-County and Kemihoko Primary Schools in Ishongororo City Council were destroyed, forcing students to study under trees.

Mushunga Primary School, with a total population of 532 students, had three classrooms, one of which had recently been hit by a storm. As a result, some lessons now take place in the shade of trees.

Pancrasio Ninyesiga, principal of Mushungu Primary School, said grades one to four were affected, with at least 213 students.

“Our three classes P2, P3, P4 and the top classes were taken by storm. Now we have nowhere to put our students. We are using shade trees as the school has not provided temporary facilities to the students,” he said.

Students have to face the current unfavorable learning environment until the government comes to their rescue.

“Now we have two classroom blocks left, which were built by parents, but they are also destroyed. Both facilities house only P7 and P6 classes and offices. The government should provide us with more structures because we only have one structure which the government has provided,” Ninyesiga said.

He stated that the largest number of students who currently have nowhere to study study in the affected classroom blocks.

“When lessons are being taught and it rains, lessons end, and as educators we know that this reduces student performance and is also affected by too much sunlight,” Ninyesiga explained.

Mr Furugyensi Sigirenda, a parent at Mushunga Primary School, said they wonder how the children will manage to complete third grade if they are learning under a tree and the rains are still coming.

“The school is almost gone, we are asking the government for help because we do not have the resources to restore the school as parents. Learning has already been interrupted and we don’t know how our children will finish this semester at the end of the year,” he said.

Innocent Mwesigwa, chairman of the board of directors of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), said the school was left with two classroom blocks, with two classrooms in each, built by parents who were also on the verge of collapse.

Mrs. Dinavence Twinobusingye, also a parent of a student at Mushunga Primary School, stated that parents are concerned about the learning environment in which their children learn.

“When classes take place outside the classroom, children get cold and their books get lost. They are affected by the cold and we are concerned about this situation now that it is the rainy season. We also fear for their lives,” she added.

Ms Patience Natukunda, P2 teacher at Mushunga Primary School, said: “We have challenges when we teach some classes from outside. It is difficult to complete the lessons because the weather is not on our side and the boards we use are too small to give students enough work.”

Gad Mabanda, principal of Kemihoko Primary School, said there are 366 students at the school but they currently have nowhere to teach because winds blew off the roofs of classrooms last month.

“We tried to move them to other classes and reported it to the district authorities, who came to inspect the school, but nothing was done,” he said.

Mabanda added: “The parents were able to raise Sh400,000 but it is not enough to even build a temporary structure. We are asking the government to come to our rescue.”

Happy Herbert Mayanja, the Ibanda district chairman, said the local government has no money to support the two schools, which are government-aided.

“As a district, we try to look for stakeholders and organizations that can help these schools build structures. We told parents and the administration to plant trees that will act as wind guns,” he said.

Ibanda County Administrative Officer (CAO) Kweyamba Ruhemba said: “I went to the ground, spoke to school administrators and took some action. People should plant trees and conduct proper monitoring of schools to avoid such scenarios.”