Kampala — Over 250 school-going children have dropped out of school due to alcohol drinking and to work bar attendants, the local leaders of Sisiyi and Bulegeni sub-counties in Sironko district have said.

The LC3 councillor for Gibuzale parish in Sisiyi, Nasta Nafuna, made the discosure during a community policing meeting between the regional Police commander and the residents at Sisiyi trading centre.

Nafuna said bar owners in the area sell alcohol to school-going children between 12 and 17 years of age, while others have employed them in their bars.

"When we approach them over such things, the bar owners fight us, claiming that we are forcing children to be at school," Nafuna said.

She said these children are likely to become a security threat to the community as some of them now steal food from gardens to sell and get money for drinking.

Nafuna said the local leaders had involved the Police in carrying out operations and setting up by-laws limiting drinking hours but the situation had not improved.

"Bar owners are even threatening our lives. They say we are interfering with their businesses and that for them they have never gone to school but they have the capability of employing those who went to school," Nafuna said.

She added that this had affected the implementation of government programmes like Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE).â-‚

The eastern region Police commander, Joel Aguma, called on his officers to be pro-active instead of only waiting for people to come to their offices before they can act.

"I ask you to work with the office of DISO, GISO and Police to see that such problems like early drinking, land wrangles are identified and investigated. Nobody should play with education where the Government has injected a lot of money," Aguma said.

He said alcohol drinking in the area leads to poverty, health problems, increased crime rates.

He warned that the Police would intervene to stop the situation from getting worse.

"We will not sit back and just watch the country's future generation being destroyed," Aguma said.