HUGE UPE CASH SCANDAL! 23,037 Namutumba Ghost Learners Exposed… 14 Schools Under Fire Over Shocking Enrolment Figures; Whistleblower Puts Minister Balaam On Notice As Billions Feared Lost
KAMPALA — A massive education funding scandal is threatening to explode in Namutumba District after shocking allegations emerged that 14 government-aided primary schools could have been declaring more than 23,000 pupils above the numbers reportedly established during physical headcounts, RedPepper has learnt.
The explosive claims have put district education officials and headteachers under the spotlight, with questions mounting over how schools allegedly recorded thousands of additional learners in the Education Management Information System (EMIS), the government database used to manage education information.
A whistleblower has now sounded the alarm, putting Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara on notice and demanding urgent investigations into the alleged inflation of enrolment figures and possible abuse of Universal Primary Education (UPE) capitation grants.
Information submitted to RedPepper indicates that the 14 schools collectively have 31,287 learners recorded on EMIS, against only 8,250 pupils reportedly established during inspectors’ headcounts.
That leaves a staggering discrepancy of 23,037 learners.
If independently confirmed, the figures could expose serious weaknesses in the management of UPE funds, with taxpayers potentially paying for learners whose existence or eligibility has not been established.
SCHOOLS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The whistleblower has provided a school-by-school breakdown that paints a disturbing picture.
At Buwambi Primary School, EMIS reportedly records 1,919 learners, yet the actual number is said to be only 400.
Kigalama Primary School has 2,815 learners on the EMIS system against 900 reportedly counted, while Kalamira Primary School records 2,264 against only 350.
Kasimizi Primary School allegedly has 2,174 learners on EMIS, but inspectors reportedly established only 400.
The situation at Bubutya C/U Primary School is equally alarming, with 3,122 learners recorded against 750 reportedly found.
Kisiiro Primary School has 2,147 on the government system against 800, while Nsongwe Primary School records 1,116 against 350.
Namutumba Modern Islamic Primary School is listed with 2,743 learners, yet the whistleblower says only 950 were established during the headcount.
At Nabikabala Primary School, the alleged discrepancy stands at 2,470 against 600, while Bulagala Primary School has 1,873 against 300.
Mulama Primary School reportedly records 1,583 learners against 350, while Huuda Islamic School has 1,647 against 300.
Bawazir Primary School is listed with 2,434 against 900, and Nawansagwa Primary School reportedly has 2,980 learners against 900 physically counted.
The whistleblower says investigations are still ongoing and more schools could be exposed as additional information is compiled.
CAPITATION CASH TRAIL!
But the allegations are not limited to enrolment figures, with the whistleblower also raising serious questions about the handling of UPE capitation grants.
In one of the most explosive claims, a former headteacher of Mulama Primary School is accused of withdrawing the school’s second-term UPE grant before allegedly depositing more than Shs6m to a District Official .
The whistleblower claims the District Official is married to another former headteacher, raising questions about possible conflicts of interest and the accountability of public funds.
The former headteacher was subsequently transferred.
She is also accused of withdrawing the school’s grant during the same term.
The whistleblower further alleges that capitation grant money collected from different schools is channelled to the District Official through a one SB, an official at Kalamira Primary School.
There are also allegations concerning the chairperson of the Namutumba Headteachers Association which we shall reveal in our subsequent publication.
If substantiated, the claims could point to a wider network through which public education funds were allegedly collected and channelled outside their intended school-level purposes.
The allegations now call for a forensic examination of school bank accounts, withdrawal slips, payment records, grant allocations and the district’s financial records.
SHS380,000 FEES IN UPE SCHOOL?
Namutumba Modern Islamic Primary School has also been dragged into the storm over allegations of charging pupils hefty fees despite being presented as a UPE school.
The whistleblower claims day scholars in Primary One to Primary Six are charged more than Shs75,000 each, while Primary Seven pupils allegedly pay upwards of Shs380,000.
The school is also accused of having more than 300 nursery pupils whose numbers are allegedly included in the primary school enrolment during government headcounts.
The whistleblower argues that this practice could artificially inflate the school’s primary enrolment and distort the figures used in determining government funding.
He has called for a special inspection of the nursery section and a fresh headcount to establish the actual number of primary school pupils.
BALAAM, EDUCATION MINISTRY PUT ON NOTICE
The whistleblower wants Minister Balaam Barugahara and the relevant government agencies to move in and establish what is happening in Namutumba.
The blower is demanding investigations into the named headteachers, verification of EMIS figures, examination of UPE grant withdrawals and accountability for any public money found to have been misappropriated.
The Inspectorate of Government, Ministry of Education and Sports, Auditor General and other accountability agencies could also be called upon to establish whether the alleged enrolment discrepancies translated into irregular government payments.
The central question is how such massive differences could allegedly persist without being detected by the district’s education supervision and inspection structures.
Who verified the enrolment figures? Who approved the returns submitted to government? Were UPE grants calculated using the disputed numbers? And where did the money go if the alleged discrepancies resulted in excess payments?
Those are the questions that now demand answers.
The named schools and district officials have not yet been independently established as having committed wrongdoing.
For now, the whistleblower says the Namutumba revelations are only the beginning, with more schools and evidence expected to follow.
Watch this space!
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