By Lazaro Apunyo and Moses Lokeris
Parents in Karamoja sub region are still struggling to embrace sending their children to school on the first week of the start of a new term, a vice that hinders learning and leads to poor performance, especially in national examinations.
The Ministry of Education and Sports recently postponed the official opening of schools from February 2 to February 10 because of the 2026 general elections, a move educationists say may have affected attendance.
A spot check conducted by our reporters in several schools across the region revealed only a small fraction of enrolled learners turned up on the first day of term, less than 10 percent.
While teachers largely reported for duty on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, the low turnout of pupils and students affected the smooth start of the school calendar.
At Pope John Paul II Memorial College in Kaabong district, Melekisedek Lokiru, the deputy head teacher, said that only three students reported on the first day of the term.
Bernard Wazisi, head teacher Kaabong SS revealed that they received only 15 students on the first and second day of the term, a number he described as the lowest in recent years.
Similar situation was registered at Kotido Senior Secondary School.
Emmanuel Lokedi, the head teacher Kotido SS noted that only 20 students showed up on the first and second day and attributed low student’s turnout to the recent withdrawal of food support by the World Food Program (WFP).
At Jubilee 2000 Secondary School in Karenga district, only 200 students turned up for learning, as explained by the school head teacher Paul Oboi.
At Atedeo primary school in Lotisan Sub County only six learners were present out of a total enrollment of 1,266 learners.
Jackson Kimanayi, the school teacher said that parents have a tendency of not sending children to school on the first week of every term, which he says, hinders learning and leads to poor performance, especially in national examinations.
At KDA primary school in Rupa Sub-County, the school head teacher Joseph Elanyu said out of 828 registered pupils, only 120 had turned up.
This means that 708 pupils are still loitering in the villages helping parents with domestic chores especially herding cattle.
Despite the low pupils’ turnout, Elanyu revealed that teaching is going on, expressing optimism that the turnout will improve as the term processes
Meanwhile Moses Lokwii, the Moroto District Senior Education officer observed that the district has embarked on a go back school campaign to encourage parents to send children to school.
According to Lokwii, late reporting to school in Karamoja is a persistent issue where leaners, particularly at the start of a new term, delay their return.
He warned against late reporting, emphasizing that it hinders learning and leads to poor performance, especially in national examinations.
“Main factors include delayed payment of school fees, domestic chores, lack of school requirements, and poor attitudes towards education. Chronic late reporting disrupts the school calendar, reduces syllabus coverage, and contributes to low performance in national exams”, Lokwii explained.
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