Kampala — Over 800 Kenyans are among the beneficiaries of the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme in Busia district.

The schools that have attracted the Kenyans are mainly those at the Uganda-Kenya border.

The Busia resident district commissioner, Robinah Nabanja, said they would not antagonise the students because of the cordial relations between the two countries. Schools in Busia town, Buhehe, Dabani and Masafu sub-counties, have attracted more Kenyan than Ugandan students.

Busia chief administrative officer Aggrey Ngobi said the district has a total enrolment of 7,867 students, with an average student to teacher ratio of 192:1. Ngobi also noted that the district had resorted to the system of double shifts to address the shortage of teachers.

"We are only appealing to the Government to lift a ban on teacher recruitment because the schools are facing acute shortage of teaching staff," Ngobi appealed.