Authorities in Manafwa District have temporarily closed Bumboi Primary School after large structural cracks were discovered in several classroom blocks, raising serious safety concerns for pupils and staff.
The decision to shut down the school was made by the Manafwa District Education Department following an inspection that revealed widening cracks running across walls, floors, and ceilings of multiple classrooms. Local leaders and parents raised alarm after noticing that some classrooms had become visibly unstable, especially after recent rains worsened the structural damage.
Mr. Samuel Watira, the head teacher of the school, confirmed that the cracks had grown significantly in recent weeks, making the learning environment increasingly dangerous. “We cannot risk the lives of our children. It became unsafe, and we had to act,” he said.
Currently, over 600 pupils are affected by the closure. Many of them have been sent home as the district looks for alternative arrangements. Some classes may be temporarily relocated to nearby schools or community spaces if assessments show the damage cannot be quickly repaired.
Local leaders have called on the government to intervene urgently. Bumboi Primary School, like many rural government schools in Uganda, has long suffered from underfunding, poor maintenance, and aging infrastructure. The current crisis has only exposed the vulnerability of such institutions to long-term neglect.
Manafwa District Education Officer Mr. Tom Wamono said engineers will conduct a thorough structural assessment to determine whether the affected classroom blocks can be rehabilitated or need to be demolished and rebuilt. He assured parents that the safety of learners remains the top priority.
“We are working closely with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to ensure that learning resumes as soon as possible in a safer environment,” Mr. Wamono said.
Parents, however, remain anxious about how long their children will stay out of school. Many have expressed frustration over the lack of timely renovations and oversight, warning that continued inaction could disrupt learners' academic progress.
The incident at Bumboi adds to a growing number of public schools across the country grappling with deteriorating infrastructure. Stakeholders are now calling for increased government investment in school facilities, especially in rural areas where the risks are often greater and resources limited.