By Gloria Nakiyimba
The Embassy of Japan has handed a Girls’ Dormitory at St. Benedict Secondary School in Amuria district and Classroom Blocks in Kibale Secondary School in Pallisa district.
The Deputy Head of Mission of Japan to Uganda, Mizumoto Horii commissioned the two projects that were funded by a grant donation of over 568 million Uganda shillings from the government of Japan.
The grant was used to for construction of girls’ dormitory, classroom blocks including all furnishing and construction of sanitary facilities.
The female students at St. Benedict Secondary School in Amuria did not have a proper accommodation since they were sleeping in the old church building and a store. This was originally an agricultural institute which was later turned into a secondary school.
“The project was implemented to respond to the challenge of lack of sleeping space for the girls with the objective of improving the students learning and living environment” said Mr Mizumoto.
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Kibale Secondary School was heavily congested with 604 students resulting in a 1:50 teacher student ration affecting the teachers’ efficiency. Here besides constructing fully furnished new classroom blocks, part of the grant was used to put up sanitary facilities which were not enough to serve the swelling students population.
According to Mr. Mizumoto Japan prioritizes education cooperation as one of the essential sectors for achieving human security.
He told e female students, “When you receive quality education, it will not only improve on the quality of your individual lives but also that of your families, communities, and entire nation.”
The support is part of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), a scheme administered by the Embassy of Japan