The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Buyende District, Paul Mwidu Kalikwani, has raised concern over the growing problem of ghost pupils in several government schools, warning that the practice is depriving taxpayers of billions of shillings through inflated capitation grants.
Although he did not provide specific figures for the district, Kalikwani said the problem is widespread and requires urgent intervention from education authorities, local leaders and other stakeholders.
The RDC made the remarks during a parents' engagement meeting at Wandago Primary School in Ndalike Parish, which was convened to discuss ways of improving academic performance.
Kalikwani said his office had established that some headteachers were deliberately inflating school enrolment figures to attract larger government capitation grants.
"My office has established that this has recently become a common practice in some schools, where headteachers deliberately inflate pupil numbers to attract bigger capitation grants. This is ridiculous and unacceptable," Kalikwani said.
He noted that the enrolment figures submitted by some schools do not reflect the actual number of learners attending classes.
The RDC pledged to conduct a comprehensive audit to establish the amount of government funding each affected school has received compared to its actual enrolment.
"This is an issue I will audit thoroughly to establish the total funding received and the corresponding number of pupils," he said.
The headteacher of Wandago Primary School, Mande Frank Ronald, acknowledged discrepancies between the official records and the actual number of learners.
According to Mande, the school's official register lists 1,236 pupils, yet the current physical enrolment stands at only 635.
"The official register currently indicates a total of 1,236 pupils, whereas the actual count stands at 635. This discrepancy is difficult to explain," he said.
Mande also revealed that the school is facing financial challenges after being directed by the School Management Committee to pay Shs4 million to his predecessor to settle outstanding debts.
"I am currently running the school on borrowed resources, yet the Education Department has confirmed that capitation funds for the first two terms were already released. I have been operating under these conditions for the past four weeks," he said.
The headteacher further alleged that his predecessor established a private school adjacent to Wandago Primary School, which he believes may have been used to inflate enrolment figures.
"I suspect the nearby private school significantly influenced enrolment at this school, and after my predecessor's transfer, the number of pupils dropped sharply," he added.
The Chairperson of the School Management Committee, Yoweri Ibanda, supported the headteacher's claims, confirming that the actual number of learners is far below what appears in the official register.
Responding to concerns about the school's financial obligations, Kalikwani said outgoing headteachers must properly hand over both assets and liabilities to their successors instead of treating public schools as personal property.
"Stop treating government schools as personal property. Every outgoing headteacher must hand over both liabilities and assets to ensure accountability," he said.
The RDC pledged to follow up the matter until all accountability questions are addressed and any misappropriated funds are recovered and returned to the school's accounts.
Uganda has for years struggled with the challenge of ghost pupils, with inflated enrolment figures contributing to the misallocation of government resources intended for education.
According to estimates by the Ministry of Finance, ghost pupils cost taxpayers approximately US$11 million (about Shs41 billion) annually.
In 2022, the Ministry of Education and Sports rolled out an upgraded Education Management Information System (EMIS) to improve the accuracy of learner enrolment data, strengthen planning and curb the problem of ghost pupils. However, officials acknowledge that implementation challenges remain.
