Kampala — PRIMARY schools in Lango and Acholi sub-regions have received water tanks worth sh5b from the Netherlands government.

The 1,041 tanks are part of the 22m euros, which the education ministry received from the Netherlands government last year.

"At least one million primary school pupils will get safe and clean water," the education state minister, Kamanda Bataringaya, said at the handover at Kuruma Falls in Amuru district on Friday.

He explained that some of the funds were used to buy textbooks for primary four and seven pupils.

"Unscrupulous teachers who misuse the books will not be tolerated," Bataringaya warned.

He said materials for primary one and two pupils would be procured for the implementation of the thematic curriculum in the region.

The rest of the fund will be used to purchase, construct classrooms, teachers' houses and latrines.

The Netherlands ambassador, Joroen Verheul, said teacher and pupil absenteeism was the major challenge to the education sector.

"We gave money to Uganda because we wanted to improve the education standards of children whose parents spent 20 years in captivity, " he said.