Padea Primary School in Zombo District

By Brenda Achen

The leadership of Padea Primary School in Zombo District has introduced sanitary facilities aimed at supporting adolescent girls to remain in school and participate fully in learning during menstruation.

The initiative includes buckets, sanitary pads and panties, providing girls with privacy and basic menstrual hygiene support while at school.

The Senior Woman Teacher at Padea Primary School said the facilities have boosted girls’ confidence and enabled them to continue attending lessons alongside their classmates during their menstrual periods.

The school Headteacher, Jimmy Bithum, said many girls walk long distances to school, making it difficult for them to manage menstrual hygiene. He said this challenge can affect their attendance and learning.

Bithum noted that menstruation remains a major barrier to education for adolescent girls in Uganda, with many lacking access to sanitary products, private facilities and accurate menstrual health information.

According to UNICEF, adolescent girls in Uganda may miss up to 11 percent of school days each month due to menstruation-related challenges.

However, the school is also facing wider challenges related to sanitation, infrastructure and the support of learners with special needs.

Padea Primary School has an enrolment of 1,832 learners in Term III, including 86 learners with special needs, comprising those with visual impairment, hearing impairment and physical disabilities. The school is struggling to adequately cater for these learners, particularly following the recent government policy on school charges.

Bithum said there is a need for remedial teaching sessions for learners who sometimes perform below their counterparts.

Remedial teaching is targeted, skill-based instruction designed to help struggling learners address learning gaps and master core subjects such as literacy and numeracy. Unlike special education, which supports learners with specific disabilities, remedial teaching helps underprepared learners catch up academically.

The Headteacher said the school has been relying on extra charges and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies to pay privately hired or subsidiary teachers, provide porridge and beans to learners, and meet utility costs amid staffing and funding shortfalls.

Government policy, however, strictly bans unauthorized fees in Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools, including foundation body fees, PTA fees, building fees, and remedial or coaching fees.

The Director of Studies at Padea Primary School, Anthony Mungujakisa, said the school is the only government-aided school in Padea Town Council and has a large enrolment partly due to learners from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo communities.

Mungujakisa said the functioning toilet facilities were constructed in 2007 and now require urgent replacement. He said the school currently has only four stances for girls and four for boys.

He described the condition of the 19-year-old toilet facilities as appalling, saying some learners are forced to remove their school uniforms before using the toilets to prevent the strong smell from sticking to their clothes.

He added that adolescent learners, who require greater privacy and hygiene, are sometimes forced to miss school because of the poor sanitation conditions.

Mungujakisa said the inadequate toilet infrastructure also affects school enrolment annually, as learners are forced to line up to access the limited facilities.

Charles Orach, one of the teachers responsible for health and security at the school, said some learners are forced to use toilets meant for teachers, while others rush to neighbouring church toilet facilities.

Orach said the large number of learners is not matched by the number of available sanitation facilities, which are also in a dilapidated state.

He said regular cleaning is intensified during the rainy season to reduce the risk of infections.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools are important for supporting learners’ health, dignity and attendance.

According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, the recommended toilet-to-pupil ratio stands at one toilet stance for every 40 learners

Padea Primary School was established in 1973 and attracts learners from Padea Town Council, Jangokoro and Abanga sub-counties, as well as neighbouring communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.