SOROTI – Soroti District has intensified efforts to improve public service delivery by convening performance review meetings with education and health stakeholders aimed at addressing challenges and developing strategies for improved outcomes.

The education stakeholders' meeting, held at the District Council Hall, brought together head teachers, Chairpersons of School Management Committees (SMCs), Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), and education officials from government primary and secondary schools.

The meeting was convened to review the performance of schools and develop strategies to improve education service delivery following concerns over the district’s recent academic performance.

District Chairperson Hon. Bob Owiny challenged teachers and education stakeholders to take ownership of their responsibilities and focus on producing better results.

He noted that improving education outcomes requires commitment, accountability, and collective action from all stakeholders involved in the education sector.

“As stakeholders, we have a collective responsibility to improve education service delivery. The recent performance of our learners shows that we must do more to improve the quality of education in our schools,” Hon. Owiny said.

The Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr. Bulubulu Yeko, challenged teachers to address absenteeism and ensure they remain committed to their duty stations. He emphasized that teacher presence and active engagement in classrooms are critical factors in improving learner performance.

He urged head teachers and school management committees to strengthen supervision and accountability mechanisms to ensure teachers effectively serve learners.

Chief Administrative Officer Mr. Emmanuel Ssempala also challenged teachers to improve the pass rate of learners, saying that transforming the education standards of Soroti District requires commitment from every stakeholder.

“We have a duty to change the level of education in Soroti District. This can only happen if all of us accept to work as required and deliver results,” Ssempala said.

He questioned why government schools continue to register lower performance compared to private schools despite having better working conditions, including government-employed teachers and regular salaries.

“Our children in government schools do not perform well compared to those in private schools, yet government schools have better working conditions. We must translate these advantages into better learning outcomes,” he added.

Later in the evening, the district held a similar performance review meeting with health workers to assess health service delivery and develop strategies for improvement.

The meeting brought together health facility in-charges and officials from the District Health Department to identify challenges affecting healthcare delivery and agree on interventions to improve the quality, efficiency, and accessibility of health services across Soroti.

The engagements are part of the district’s broader efforts to strengthen accountability, improve supervision, and enhance the delivery of essential public services in line with its development priorities.