Uganda: three headteachers arrested over suspected pupil enrolment fraud
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Monitor
Three primary school headteachers in Uganda’s Alebtong district are being held over discrepancies between declared enrolment figures and pupils actually present, including 1,531 registered against 1,000 counted at one school. Police are investigating possible fraud involving public funding, Daily Monitor reports.
Police in Alebtong district, in northern Uganda, are holding three primary school headteachers suspected of inflating pupil numbers to obtain public funds unlawfully, Daily Monitor reports. The investigation concerns discrepancies between enrolment figures declared in the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and the pupils present during a count carried out in the third term of 2026.
At Amononeno Primary School, 1,531 pupils were registered in the system, compared with 1,000 counted on site. Amugu Quran Primary School had 371 pupils declared and 174 present. At Amugu Primary School, 1,015 pupils were registered and 879 were counted. The schools are in the Abako and Amugu sub-counties.
Simon Sserugu, Alebtong district’s internal security officer, said the case had been reported to the local police. Patrick Jimmy Okema, police spokesperson for the North Kyoga region, confirmed that an investigation had been opened. He warned that falsifying pupil numbers could divert public resources and harm school services, as government funding partly depends on the number of pupils enrolled.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
