10% of learners failed to return to schools-Uneb

By Damali Mukhaye

The Uganda National Examination Board has revealed that a number of learners in both primary and secondary schools did not return for studies after the first covid-19 lockdown due to various reasons.

According to the findings from the research that was conducted by UNEB to assess the impact of Covid-19 on learning in primary and secondary education 10 per cent of primary learners and 13 per cent of secondary learners did not report back to schools after the first lockdown.

According to the findings, the proposition of girls (8%) who did not report back to schools at primary level was lower than that of boys (10.2%), while the proportion of learners in rural areas (11.3%) was higher than that of urban areas (1.9%).

This was attributed to lack of tuition by parents to take back their children to school, teenage pregnancies, preference of casual labor to duties, early marriages and loss of interest in learning by some learners.

The Executive Director of Uneb, Mr Daniel Odongo said that whereas more learners might not return back to schools when schools reopen next year in January, some of them have been able to acquire vocational skills.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna