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Low learner turnout raises concern amid poverty and parental neglect

13 February 2026, 5:48 pm

By Gift Okello

Schools officially reopened for the first term on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, following a long holiday, but empty classrooms and low learner turnout in Gulu City and the Acholi sub-region have raised alarm among education stakeholders, who cite parental negligence, poverty, and negative attitudes towards early-term learning.

Speaking to our reporter, Richard Jomeo, an activist and opinion leader in Gulu City, said the low turnout is partly driven by the belief among some parents and learners that little or no meaningful teaching takes place during the first week of the school term.

Richard Jomeo speaks on parental responsibility for school attendance – Luo.

The cultural leader of Pawel, Rwot Baptist Latim, criticised parents for failing to ensure their children attended school on the first day of term, highlighting that persistent poverty in Northern Uganda continues to prevent many families from raising school fees and meeting other scholastic requirements in time for reopening.

Rwot Baptist Latim speaks on low learner turnout at term start – Luo.

Meanwhile, Denis Odongping, Gulu District Chairperson of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), partly attributed the low learner turnout and declining performance in some schools to parental negligence.

Denis Odongping speaks on low learner turnout at term start – Luo.

Akello Betty, a parent at Police Vanguard Primary School, accused some parents of deliberately keeping their children at home to perform domestic chores and work in the garden, thereby undermining their education.

A parent speaks on children missing the first day of school.

The situation was particularly alarming at Pece Pawel Primary School, where only eight learners attended across all classes on the first day of term.

Despite the slow start, Gulu City recorded strong performance in the 2025 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), with 4,439 candidates sitting the exams and 770 achieving First Grade—426 boys and 344 girls.