St Joseph Seed Secondary School, one of seven government seed secondary schools established in Tororo District to expand access to education in underserved communities, is struggling to attract learners despite having modern facilities and adequate teaching staff.
The school was built to reduce the long distances students travel to access secondary education, a government intervention aimed at lowering dropout rates and increasing enrolment in rural areas.
However, two years after opening, the school remains significantly under-enrolled. Although it has the capacity to accommodate more than 1,000 students, only about 200 are currently enrolled.
According to the school's Director of Studies, Beatrice Aketch, many parents and community members are either unaware of the school's existence or remain reluctant to enrol their children there.
She said the school has sufficient teachers and learning facilities and has encouraged current students to help mobilise their peers to join the institution.
Despite its modern infrastructure, the school continues to face operational challenges, particularly the lack of electricity and piped water.
Administrators say the absence of the two essential services has affected teaching and learning, especially practical Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lessons.
Although electricity poles have already been erected and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation has completed the required works, the school has not yet been connected to either service.
As a result, the institution relies on generators, which school administrators say are too costly to run throughout the day because of high fuel expenses.
Tororo District Chairperson John Okea acknowledged the challenges, saying the district had considered installing solar power but lacked the financial resources to do so.
He said the district is exploring alternative solutions while engaging the relevant government agencies.
Tororo District Education Officer Albert Odoi said the district is aware of the school's challenges and is working with the responsible authorities to have electricity and water connected.
He noted that the Ministry of Energy had already conducted a survey and expressed optimism that the required infrastructure would be completed soon.
District leaders have also appealed to parents to enrol their children at the school, saying low enrolment undermines the government's investment in expanding access to secondary education.
Okea said increasing student numbers would improve the school's funding and boost staff morale while ensuring that the community benefits from the facility established in its area.
