Amolatar Deputy RDC Pledges Action as Arwotcek Community Demands Answers Over ‘Missing’ Seed School.
BY OKIDI PATRICK OCAMOYITDYEL
AMOLATAR, UGANDA – The Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Amolatar, Obonyo Magwar, has pledged to intervene in the long-running education crisis facing Arwotcek community, following a consultative visit on Sunday, 18 October, where residents accused government of failing to deliver a promised 3.5 billion shillings seed school.
The visit, aimed at assessing the socio-economic challenges facing the community, quickly turned into a heated engagement as residents recounted their frustrations over the stalled school project — with some reportedly sobbing in anger during the meeting.
According to community members, the Arwotcek Seed School was duly registered, had teachers and classroom blocks in place, but was demolished to pave way for a modern 3.5 billion shillings structure that never materialised.
The community also expressed bitter regret over surrendering their UGIFT school to Agikdak, saying they now appear to have lost both institutions.
“The meeting was a kind involving scratching heads, sobbing, anger, all for the love of education and a school hard fought for to the tune of 11 million shillings in fundraising — and yet currently there is no trace of a school. The meeting felt they were duped,” a source at the meeting told this reporter.
Despite the anger, the Board, PTA, SMC, local leaders, foundation body, Sub County NRM chair and technical staff resolved to have the school operational by February 2027, and are now pinning their hopes on government to fast-track the process.
The community decried the alarming distance learners travel in search of education — with students trekking to Awelo and Aputi, over 20 kilometres away.
The meeting resolved to write to the RDC, requesting him to summon the Chief Administrative Officer, the current and previous district chairpersons, all Members of Parliament, the Education department and other technical offices to explain the community’s education challenges.
Their letter is expected to request the RDC’s support in charting a way forward to ensure the long-awaited school is opened by February 2026.
The Deputy RDC encouraged the community to remain patient, noting that government programmes and projects are carefully planned and take time to materialise.
Earlier in the day, Magwar addressed the community’s deep-seated poverty, taking residents through strategic production approaches based on the reality that their food crops fetch low prices when sold — citing maize at only 1,000 shillings per kilogramme.
He encouraged them to cultivate food crops for consumption on a few acres, dedicating the bulk of their land to high-value enterprises as outlined in the President’s four-acre model — pasture, fruits, high-income perennial crops and fish ponds.
The Deputy RDC specifically urged residents to grow coffee, which thrives in Lango soils and can provide income even during drought periods, unlike short-term crops. He also mentioned cocoa and the herbal vegetable hibiscus as high-income earners, especially when value is added.
On governance, Magwar applauded the community’s management of security, government development programmes and their homesteads.
He also addressed reports of community members who were cheated of Parish Development Model (PDM) and cattle restocking funds despite the biting poverty, giving out his contacts to ease direct reporting to the RDC office, the commercial officer or the police, which has a support desk for investigations and likely prosecution.
The Deputy RDC’s visit underscores the delicate balancing act between addressing immediate livelihood concerns and the community’s mounting frustration over unfulfilled education promises — a test of government’s commitment to service delivery in rural Amolatar.
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