Agency
Kitgum District Council has banned primary school teachers from riding Boda bodas during school days, citing absenteeism and declining academic performance among Primary Seven candidates. The council passed the resolution on February 25 following deliberations by the committee on education, health, and community-based services, after reviewing last year’s Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results.
The ban takes immediate effect, with education officials expected to enforce it through regular school inspections. Charles Otto Odera, the councillor for Pager Division, said the committee discovered that a significant number of male teachers were engaged in commercial boda boda riding during official school hours. According to Odera, figures the committee got from the education department show that close to 70 percent of male teachers are reportedly involved in the business.
Odera argued that when teachers take more time in doing bodaboda business, it worsens the district’s teacher-to-pupil ratio, significantly, undermining performance. “By standard, the ratio of teachers to pupils should be 1:50. But as a district, we are now at 1:120. That means we must fill that gap if we are to achieve the results we admire,” Odera said.
The council has directed head teachers and district education supervisors to strengthen monitoring and ensure compliance with the ban. Raymond Ocan, the councilor for Pandwong Division, said absenteeism among teachers was a major concern and called for collective responsibility among stakeholders, including parents. “We need to address the problems from all angles; teachers, parents, and leaders, to ensure continuous monitoring of schools,” Ocan said.
However, Kitgum District Education Officer (DEO) Anthony Lam Lawot, in an interview with URN, downplayed claims of widespread involvement of teachers in boda boda operations, saying only three formal cases were recorded in 2024. “I did not have clear statistics beyond the three cases that were officially reported and sanctioned by the district rewards and sanctions committee,” Lawot said. “If head teachers do not formally report, it becomes difficult to act.”
Lawot acknowledged that some teachers had been sighted at boda boda stages, but noted that distinguishing between private transport use and commercial riding can be challenging. He welcomed the council’s resolution, saying it reinforces efforts to improve academic standards. “There has been a performance gap, and this move demonstrates support towards improving learning outcomes,” Lawot said.
Lawot also advised teachers to pursue alternative income-generating activities outside school hours instead of engaging in boda boda riding. He suggested poultry keeping, piggery, and crop farming as viable options to supplement salaries. “Some teachers in this district are already doing well in piggery and poultry. These are projects you can manage on weekends or after work,” he said.
Kitgum performed poorly in the 2025 PLE, with 831 candidates getting Division U, representing 28% of the total candidates who sat. Only 31 candidates, representing 1.1 %, passed in Division one, and 652 candidates passed in Division 2, representing 29.4 percent of the 2,939 candidates who sat PLE. However, the DEO said the performance is an encouraging improvement, from the 24 first-grade students registered in 2024, and is optimistic that many more will pass in good grades with concerted efforts from the main stakeholders.
