By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE CITY
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is set to resume the Baseline Education Census exercise on June 10th. The exercise, which was launched by Minister of Education and Sports Janet Museveni on May 7th, was suspended due to the end of the first term.
According to Diducus Okoth, Principal Communication Officer at UBOS while speaking to the media in a press conference on Thursday at Mbale district Lukhobo hall, the census will continue in the Central region before moving to the Eastern region and other parts of the country.
He says the UBOS team will visit government and private primary, secondary schools, and institutions of higher learning to collect data.
Tom Musungu, Mbale District Public Relations Officer, explained that teachers will assist in collecting data for nursery to Primary 5 children, including age, parents’ ID NIN number, name, and date of birth.
He adds that students from Primary 6 to secondary level will be interviewed one-on-one to provide their age, parents’ NIN number, and other information.
Musungu assured that the purpose of the census is to identify the number of children in schools, both public and private, to inform future planning.
Casim Namugali, Mayor of Mbale City, urged the public and schools to cooperate with the exercise and provide accurate information.
Asumin Nasike, Mbale Resident City Commissioner, warned against resistance to the program, cautioning that those who hide children or obstruct the exercise will be arrested.
The census aims to address issues such as “ghost pupils” and teachers, which have resulted in losses to taxpayers
