Despite mounting pressure from various quarters to cease his actions, Ignatius Koomu, the Chairman of Nakaseke District, has remained steadfast in holding teachers and headteachers accountable for poor academic performance among learners.

In a recent development, four headteachers in the district faced demotion to classroom teaching positions due to the dismal performance of their candidates in the 2023 Primary Leaving Examination. The affected schools include Kagango Mixed School, Kikamulo C/U, Butiikwa Primary School, and Magoma Orthodoxy Primary.

At Kagango Mixed School, a concerning 59 percent of candidates failed, while at Kikamulo C/U, the failure rate stood at 50 percent. Butiikwa Primary School saw 33 percent of candidates failing, and Magoma Orthodoxy Primary reported a failure rate of 16 percent among its candidates.

In response to the persistently poor performance, Chairman Koomu took a proactive approach by administering mock examinations to 52 classroom teachers from the underperforming schools. The results revealed a wide spectrum of competency levels among the teachers, with the lowest scorer obtaining 27 marks, while the highest achiever secured 92 marks in their respective subjects.

However, Koomu has come under fire from the Ministry of Education and Sports, Parliament and Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) among other leaders accusing him of overstepping his powers and disrespecting teachers. The Institutions have asked him to stop the measures while UNATU issued an intention to sue him if he continued the practice.

While speaking at the commissioning of a newly constructed classroom block at Kiwoko Church of Uganda Primary School on Friday, Koomu insisted that he would maintain the pressure on the headteachers and teachers until they end failures in the District.

Koomu added that while Nakaseke district ranked 47th in PLE Performance last year, the target is to ensure that it shifts to among the 10 best-performing districts. He added that some candidates’ failure was due to rampant absenteeism and incompetent headteachers and teachers.

According to Koomu, the demoted headteachers will be reinstated after serving as classroom teachers for three years and demonstrating that they have improved.

He added that the poor-performing teachers who sat mock exams have also been cautioned and put under close supervision to improve or face disciplinary measures next year if their candidates fail again.

Samuel Ssenyondwa a parent at Kiwoko Church of Uganda Primary School backed Koomu’s measures saying some teachers had abandoned learners yet they continued drawing government salaries.

The move was also supported by the Luwero Anglican Diocesan Secretary for Education Canon Mephibosheth Musisi, as a measure to stop rampant absenteeism.

Musisi said that in his recent supervision in church-owned schools in Nakaseke, he found out that teachers had taught less than ten lessons a term and this meant that learners didn’t complete the syllabus as planned by the Education Ministry.

Nakaseke teachers say that it’s unfair to put pressure on them before addressing factors that include understaffing, inadequate staff accommodation, automatic promotion of weak learners, non-payment of fees for meals, and others that led to the failure of candidates.

State Minister for Kampala City and Metropolitan Affairs Kabuye Kyofatogabye also supported Koomu’s measures saying these are backed by the decentralization policy which gives the district powers to recruit and supervise teachers.

Kyofatogabye said the government has constructed several classroom blocks and teachers’ quarters in some schools but it was frustrating to find out that the learners were still failing PLE.

Kyofatogabye who is also a resident of Nakaseke has offered free Pass PLE newspapers to all schools in Nakaseke Central constituency to enhance revision for candidates. He also pledged scholarships to grade III teachers to upgrade to improve their competency in teaching.

According to the 2023 PLE results, 604 candidates (12.9 per cent) passed in the first division, 2,706 candidates (57.9 per cent) in the second division, 728 candidates (15.6 per cent) in the third division, and 361 candidates (7.7 per cent) in Division four.

The results indicate that 276 candidates (5.6 per cent) failed and 138 candidates (2.9 per cent) of 4813 candidates that registered didn’t sit the examinations in 2023.