After years of grappling with severe teacher shortages, government-aided primary schools in Mbarara City are now anticipating a much-needed boost in staff by the end of the 2024/2025 financial year.
City authorities have secured funds through a supplementary budget, setting the stage for increased recruitment and a hopeful resolution to the region's longstanding staffing crisis.
"We've finally managed to secure funding, and we're actively working on getting clearance from public service to fill these vacancies," confirmed Assy Abireebe Tumwesigire, the City Clerk.
"This relief is long overdue, and we hope it will allow us to address this gap of teacher shortage and improve the quality of education in our schools."
For many schools in Mbarara City, a shortage of teachers has meant that only a handful of teachers manage hundreds of students daily, limiting their ability to provide individual attention.
The issue has been particularly acute in schools like Rwakaterere Primary, where only three teachers oversee a student body of 442.
"It's exhausting, but we're holding on," said Hope, the headteacher at Rwakaterere.
"We're doing everything we can to support students, but with such a small team, it feels like an uphill battle every day. All we need is new teachers recruited because facilitating a private teacher and non teaching support staff is very expensive."
In addition to heavy workloads, many schools have resorted to hiring private teachers to cope, straining their already limited budgets.
However, this stopgap measure is unsustainable, according to school administrators.
The teacher shortage crisis is not limited to Rwakaterere. At Rwenjeru Primary School, with an enrollment of 485 students, the school has only seven teachers.
John Bosco Nuwagaba, the headteacher Rwenjeru primary school explained that while student enrollment continues to grow, teacher recruitment has failed to keep pace.
"We've tried hiring private teachers, but it's not sustainable," Nuwagaba explained.
"This stretches our budget and staff thin, especially as enrollment keeps increasing. If the recruitment happens as planned, it will be a tremendous relief for our school and our students."
Nuwagaba's sentiments reflect a growing concern among schools and administrators across Mbarara City, who worry that the lack of teachers could negatively affect student performance.
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Overcrowded classrooms hinder teachers' ability to provide individualized instruction, potentially impacting student achievement in crucial examinations, such as the Primary Leaving Examinations.
Education officials view the upcoming recruitment as a critical step toward addressing the challenges Mbarara City schools face.
With more teachers, officials believe that schools will be able to reduce class sizes, provide better student support, and improve overall learning outcomes.
As recruitment plans move forward, schools like Rwakaterere can look forward to a brighter, better-staffed future.
This is expected to relieve overworked teachers, reduce student-teacher ratios, and create a more conducive learning environment for Mbarara City's students, providing them with a renewed sense of hope for the years ahead.
