NYARAKUA PS: Maracha’s Academic Giant Lacking Classrooms

MARACHA. Nyarakua primary school (PS) in Oleba sub-county is one of the schools that registered the highest number of first grades in last year’s Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) in Maracha district.

Out of the 46 candidates that registered to sit for 2024 PLE, Nyarakua PS produced 6 candidates in first grade, 30 candidates in second grade and 8 in third grade while 2 candidates didn’t sit the exams thus recording an overall pass rate of 96 percent.

In the past six years, it has been a norm for Nyarakua PS to produce pupils in first grade despite the numerous challenges faced by the school.

Among others, the school has been grappling with the challenge of inadequate number of classrooms to accommodate the ever-increasing enrollment.

The surge in enrollment is as a result of good performance which has not yet attracted the attention of the district officials to act.

Last year, Nyarakua PS had an enrollment of 1,697 pupils squeezed into two blocks of four classrooms each, making teaching for the 22 teachers in the school very difficult.

But besides the challenge, the teachers say, they had to beat all odds to ensure that the school emerges among the top best schools in Maracha district.

Speaking during a thanks giving ceremony held at the school on Sunday, February 17, 2025, Vito Modest Abaku, the school headteacher, said the situation has even worsened this year.

He noted that the good PLE result has attracted more pupils from within and outside the district.

“This time the enrollment has risen because of the good performance. The pupils here are now more than 2,000. There are very many newcomers; others are within Maracha while others are coming from the neighboring districts like Yumbe, Adjumani and Arua. Other people are bringing children from as far as Wakiso district. So, help us in solving the problem of inadequate classrooms and toilets for learners,” Abaku appealed during the function.

The function was aimed at honoring the effort made by the school to excel in PLE and a debate competition organized by Amani Initiative, a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO), in which Nyarakua PS school emerged the best in Maracha district.

Mercy Gertrude, 12, a P.7 pupil of Nyarakua PS said at times during evening lessons, if there are many pupils in class, she starts feeling dizzy and as a result, she can’t understand what the teacher is teaching.

Gertrude said at least the government should look for all possible ways of constructing classrooms for them.

John Mawa, one of the founders of Nyarakua PS acknowledged that the number of classrooms in the school are not enough to accommodate the ever-growing number of pupils.

Mawa said most primary schools in Maracha district have three classroom blocks and above with exception of Nyarakua PS to which the district authority is paying deaf ears despite several appeals.  

However, Ronald Musema, the Oleba sub-county chairperson, encouraged parents to continue sending their children to Nyarakua PS, promising that no child will be sent home due to lack of classrooms.

“This is a government school; we can’t send any child home but we shall continue to admit more. We are aware of the challenge of inadequate classrooms which we will continue following up with the district, but for the meantime, let us continue receiving children who are coming to benefit from the good-quality education being offered here. Even if it means teaching them from outside, let us do so for the good of our country,” Musema said.

Henry Aniku, the Maracha district sports officer who doubles as the district project officer, advised that this is a planning period, good-enough for the school to write to the Chief Administrative Officer through the District Education Officer requesting for a classroom block.

Aniku said the district currently has limited funds to construct classroom blocks like before citing reduction in central government funding.

“If we are to give you a classroom block, it can’t be a four-classroom block, I want to be open about this. If we give you a three-classroom block, say thank you and if you are given a two-classroom block, you also need to say thank you because to construct a two-classroom block now, it requires Shs120m,” Aniku stated.

He added that: “We used to get Shs700m under School Facilities Grant (SFG) and that is the money we were using to construct new classroom blocks but this year, we got Shs157m and we only bought desks. I need to check whether Nyarakua PS is on the list to receive the desks and if not, that is actually enough excuse for us to bring a project for Nyarakua PS.”

Later in the function, the school teachers, best debaters and PLE stars were awarded with certificates of excellence accompanied with envelopes to the excitement of many.

The school management also used the opportunity to launch a fundraising drive to buy a complete set of band for the school.