The Kitgum District Education Department has issued strict management directives to primary school headteachers as schools reopen for the crucial third term of the 2026 academic year.
The directives require immediate improvements in administrative accountability, strict enforcement of digital staff attendance tracking, and enhanced preparation for national end-of-year examinations.
Speaking to school administrators and district stakeholders on Friday, Kitgum District Education Officer (DEO) Anthony Lam Lawot outlined a set of non-negotiable operational priorities centred on instructional leadership, school safety, financial discipline and compliance with government management systems.
He said Term Three is a critical period for consolidating syllabus coverage, conducting continuous assessment and preparing candidates for national examinations.
“The successful implementation of Term 3, 2026, will depend largely on effective leadership, effective planning, regular supervision, teacher commitment and learners’ attendance,” Lawot said. He reminded headteachers that, as primary accounting officers, they bear the core administrative responsibility for the performance and management of their schools.
A key component of the district’s strategy is the strict enforcement of the Teacher Effectiveness and Learners’ Achievement (TELA) system, a digital attendance platform introduced by the Ministry of Education and Sports to monitor teacher attendance and learner participation.
Lawot said daily digital clocking in and out is now mandatory for both headteachers and classroom teachers in all government primary schools. He warned that schools with TELA compliance scores below 70 per cent in Terms One and Two will receive formal warning letters from the district education department.
Persistent non-compliance, he added, will trigger a progressive disciplinary process that could culminate in formal referrals to the Chief Administrative Officer in accordance with the Public Service Standing Orders.
Beyond digital attendance monitoring, the department has directed headteachers to conduct immediate facility audits to ensure that classrooms and other school facilities are clean, safe and properly maintained.
Lawot also cautioned school administrators against unauthorised financial practices, informal disciplinary measures and the politicisation of school management. He said disciplinary matters involving staff must follow established civil service procedures, beginning with verbal warnings and formal written notices, rather than being handled through personal disputes or political pressure.
“Professional grievances should be first addressed through the appropriate institutional and administrative channels. School management matters should not be unnecessarily politicised,” Lawot said. He warned that headteachers found engaging in misconduct or inappropriate interference would face formal administrative action.
However, Chua East Member of Parliament Calvin Okoya called for the government’s administrative expectations to be matched with adequate funding, arguing that many rural schools lack the resources needed to meet basic operational requirements.
Okoya said chronic underfunding had severely constrained the ability of headteachers to manage their schools effectively. He called on the central government to increase Kitgum District’s recruitment ceiling and wage bill allocation to address a shortage of more than 400 primary school teachers.
Okoya also said parliamentary committees were pushing for an increase in Universal Primary Education (UPE) capitation grants to ease the financial pressure on schools and reduce conflicts arising from voluntary parental contributions.
Kitgum Chief Administrative Officer Habib Abukakar said accountability should extend beyond financial management to include teacher attendance, classroom instruction, supervision and proper record-keeping.
“Accountability is about the order you have put in the school. Are teachers there on time? Are they teaching? Have you been supervising them before even the inspectors come in?” Abukakar asked.
He also warned headteachers against inflating enrolment figures, saying government funding would increasingly be based on verified learner numbers.
Kitgum District Chairperson Tony Blair Toolit separately put the teacher shortage at about 400 and called for an increase in the district’s wage bill to facilitate recruitment. He pledged to prioritise teacher recruitment once the District Service Commission is fully constituted.
Meanwhile, Kitgum Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Jimmy Segawa Ebil warned that teacher absenteeism was undermining school performance and pledged stronger monitoring of schools. Ebil also raised concern over low learner attendance, citing a school with nearly 600 pupils where only about 114 learners were present during one monitoring visit.
He called on parents and local leaders to work closely with schools to improve attendance, particularly in communities where children are kept at home to work in gardens-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
