By Kaleb Yiiki

Arua

Several Learners risk missing out on Government Opportunities when they fail to be registered on the Electronic learner registration in their various Schools.
Government gave all Public and Private schools, up to March 31^st 2023, to complete and Upload Learners Registration data on the Education Management Information Systems (EMIS). Radio Pacis reached out to some Schools in Arua City to find out the Progress of the learner Registrations and found out that; some of the Challenges faced in the Learner Registration is that, some Parents could not avail the Learners with their National Identity Card Numbers; and that the EMIS portal registration could not be done for Children of parents who are non-Nationals.

Brother Robert Okello, the head Teacher of Bishop Angelo Tarantino Memorial School in Arua City Says that they are encouraging their Students to Go to NIRA to get their NINs. ”There were some Challenges reported by the ICT department in school where some data of some Students were rejected by the system but later these students were registered.” He recalls.  

Maxwell Dramadri, the Head teacher Arua Public Secondary School Confirms that they have been facing challenges with the Learner Registration. He also says that Government had given several deadlines for Registration of Learners but their Challenge has been non Compliance by some Parents who fail to avail their National Identity Card Numbers (NIN) to enable their Children to be registered on the EMIS portal. He continued to warn parents who have relaxed that it is a government policy, this time to have all children registered on EMIS portal for the Learner Identification Numbers are going to be used to identify this Child right from Nursery school up to the Higher Levels of Education. “These Numbers are going to be used like the NIN, so that a learner who transfers from one School to another carries that Number. It has been easy for us to register Learners who are Nationals But for Learners who are non-Nationals has been pretty Difficult but what the Ministry has advised is for us to register them as new students”. He says.

Meanwhile, Raymond Ombere, Arua City’s Principle Education Officer says that the Ministry of Education and Sports has given an EMIS calendar to be followed by all schools from Nursery to Secondary Schools. According to this EMIS calendar the first activity is to transit learners from one class to another or from one Level to another by updating the Previous Years Learner Registration Data. He continued to state that, the Period from April, according to the EMIS Calendar is to upload Details of new Learners in the Schools and this takes into account those schools that did not upload Learners Data Last Year. These LINs in Future will be used by National Identification Regulatory Authority (NIRA) to process NINs for Learners and Consequently, National Identification Cards.  Thus when we don’t give information TO learners to be uploaded on EMIS, we are Playing with the Future of the Children, he added.  
 
According to Raymond, only 53,279 Learner details have been uploaded or updated on the EMIS and of these, 26,482 are Males 26,797 are Females. He further intimates that, Learner Identification Numbers can only be obtained if the Details of that Particular Learner is uploaded on the EMIS. He thus implored Parents to submit Photocopies of their National Identity Cards and their Phone Numbers Registered using the NINs. “I want to appeal to all Parents not to take this Activity Lightly because in future the lack of Lerner NIN can deny your Child an opportunity for Further Education.” He warned.

COVER PHOTO: Raymonds Ombere, Arua city Principal Education Officer By Kaleb Yiiki