The Mahyoro town council leadership in Kitagwenda district has launched a campaign to sensitize fishing communities on the importance of educating their children to enable them compete for government jobs and other opportunities in the future.
The initiative comes amid growing concern over high school dropout rates among children living in landing sites in Mahyoro town council, where fishing activities increasingly take precedence over education.
At Mahyoro Landing Site in Mahyoro town council, fishing remains the primary source of livelihood for most families. However, many children are abandoning school to engage in fishing-related activities such as sorting nets, fishing mongering and hawking food items at the busy landing site.
A visit to Mahyoro Muslim Primary School revealed several classrooms with low attendance during school hours, while many school-age children were instead found working at the landing site.
The Head Teacher Mahyoro Muslim Primary School, said many parents in the area still do not appreciate the long-term value of education.
Mugabi welcomed government efforts to increase awareness and strengthen enforcement of school attendance.
According to Joshua Amanya, the LC3 chairperson Mahyoro town council at least 35 percent of children in fishing communities drop out annually.
He warned that failure to educate children in such communities has left many local residents unable to compete for government jobs, which are increasingly being taken up by people from outside the area.
He added that, many parents perceive fishing as more profitable than formal education.
He believes that increasing access to education will help break the cycle of poverty, improve employment prospects, and empower local communities to participate more effectively in national development.