SOROTI: More than 30 schools fail to renew operation licenses

Soroti, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 30 schools in Soroti are operating illegally after failing to renew licenses. Simon Emoru Enangu, the Soroti District Inspector of Schools says that the affected schools had operational licenses which expired after two years.

Operational licenses are issued to schools when they register to start their operations in the district. The school proprietors are expected to acquire another license (Registration Status), which details progress in the school.

The Registration Status shows the qualification of teachers, and infrastructural development in the school including classrooms, latrines, and the playground among others.

Enangu says that after acquiring the registration status, the schools can then be registered with the Ministry of Education and Sports including acquiring UNEB registration numbers. But Enangu says that only five private schools in the district have been able to renew licenses showing the progress of their schools.

Simon Peter Edoru Ekuu, the Soroti District LCV Chairperson says that some of the schools have turned out to be cheaters who target parents at the beginning of the term to collect fees and close in the course of the term.

One of the school proprietors in Soroti, who didn’t want his name to be mentioned for fear of losing out learners, says that his school was affected by COVID- 19.

“We lost two years to COVID-19 and when schools reopened, most of the children joined the government-aided schools because their parents didn’t have enough money to keep them in private schools. We are still struggling to operate as private schools but we are hopeful that business will soon stabilize,” he said.

John Bosco Okiror, the Katakwi Inspector of Schools says that although most of the private schools were affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, a number of schools are opening in the district this term.

“We have a meeting with all the proprietors of private schools in the district on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, to know their readiness before we allow them to open. Some of the schools like London College in Katakwi opened last year but closed before the end of the term. I have seen them renovating structures but we will need to speak with them before any action,” he said.

An online report from the Uganda Schools Guide of 2018 indicates that more than 50 schools from the Teso sub-region were operating illegally. The government liberalized the education sector in 1993, opening doors to private schools and institutions in the country.

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