Zombo, Uganda: A shocking learner retention crisis has rocked Padea Ulyeko Government-Aided Primary School in Abanga Sub-county, where more than 750 pupils, representing a staggering 69.3% dropout rate, abandoned school between Term I and Term III of 2025.
The unprecedented exodus marks the highest dropout rate in the institution’s 30-year history, according to school leadership and local authorities.
Headteacher Mr Richard Wanadi, while presenting a detailed retention analysis during the school’s Annual General Meeting on December 2, revealed that enrolment had plummeted from 1,086 learners at the start of Term I to just 334 pupils by the end of Term III.
The school, which serves Serr Parish, neighbouring villages in Padea Town Council and bordering communities near the DR Congo frontier, verified the data through Local Council I chairpersons.
Villages posting the highest dropout figures include Nsangi (83), Pavur (69), Andhi (67), Acu Cell (58), and Ucol (59).
Mr Wanadi linked the crisis to a combination of social and economic pressures, including cross-border coffee trading between Uganda and DR Congo, the rise of roasted maize vending—especially among girls—and the withdrawal of learners for agricultural labour in Nyapea and Atyak sub-counties.
Parents at the AGM admitted negligence in supervising their children’s education. Former teacher James Openji lamented that keeping children out of school had caused “a full academic year of learning loss.”
Across the district, the crisis mirrors a broader collapse in primary school attendance. Zombo’s 92 government-aided primary schools have suffered persistent absenteeism, worsened by the 32-day nationwide teachers’ strike led by UNATU at the start of Term III, which left thousands of learners idle.
Abanga Sub-county LCIII Chairperson Richard Awekunimungu pointed to seasonal farm labour as a major driver of absenteeism, while Paidha Town Council LCIII Chairperson Innocent Godfred Onega urged a coordinated district-wide retention strategy.
District Education Officer Patrick Angala, in an earlier assessment, warned that uncontrolled dropout threatens long-term education outcomes in Zombo District.
The West Nile Sub-region already faces severe literacy challenges, with reports showing a functional literacy rate of just 7.8%, and 28.7% of residents having never attended school.
National figures from UNEB and the 2024 Education and Sports Sector Annual Performance Report show that more than 40% of Ugandan pupils fail to complete primary school, a crisis worse among girls due to teenage pregnancy, early marriage, and entrenched poverty.
The situation in Zombo echoes the post-COVID-19 education setbacks, when the district recorded over 5,000 disrupted girl-child cases due to early pregnancies and child marriages.
Community leaders, including the Alur Kingdom and education-focused civil society groups, are calling for urgent, targeted retention interventions to preserve UPE gains and rescue the district from a deepening education deficit.
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