The UN World Food Program (WFP) has ended food support to all secondary schools in the Karamoja Sub-region.
WFP has been providing food ratios covering breakfast and lunch for all students in the secondary and primary schools in Karamoja to boost attendance and health of the learners.
WFP has been funding school feeding programmes in the Secondary Schools in Karamoja for the last 62 years.
According to WFP officials, the distribution of food to the secondary schools in the region ends effective January 1, 2026, affecting 30 secondary schools and 6 tertiary institutions.
A WFP official who requested not to be named due to strict organizational policies confirmed the withdrawal of the support, citing to lack of funding.
“We informed the Ministry of Education and Sports about the decision, adjusting the support to only cover primary schools. We have been supporting 320 schools across Karamoja, but effective January 1, 2026, we shall support only 284 primary schools in the region,” the Kotido-based official said.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education and Sports, Kedrace R. Turyagyenda, confirmed the withdrawal of WFP from the region, saying the decision is regrettable.
In his circular to the head teachers, District Education Officers, Resident District Commissioners, Town Clerks, and district chairpersons dated 29 October 2025, Turyagyenda promised that the ministry will minimize the adverse effects on learning and the health of affected learners by engaging stakeholders to develop appropriate response interventions.
“These adjustments require undertaking several change interventions, including engaging the school and institutes’ management, Boards of Governors/PT’A/Councils, and Local Governments. Through these engagements, viable alternatives and coping strategies will have to be considered,” he said in the letter.
The Permanent Secretary also warned schools against increasing school fees, advising them to look for alternative means.
“As you are aware, many of the Secondary Schools in Karamoja are Seed Secondary Schools; hence, the guidance from the Government is that such institutions should not charge fees under the Universal Secondary Education Programme.
Further attempts to raise fees will not only contradict government guidance but also affect access to Post-Primary Education in a region currently doing badly with less than 20% transition rates.”
Emmanuel Lokedi, the Head teacher of Kotido SS, said the withdrawal of WPF will worsen retention and competition rates in Karamoja because the school feeding program made schools affordable to many parents.
He said that they were planning to call an AGM to discuss the way forward, but hinted that school fees will most likely be increased to cater for feeding.
Paul Oboi, the head teacher of Jubilee 2000 SS Karenga, also noted that the withdrawal creates a big gap difficult to fill, given that the region is food-insecure.
Most schools in the region are currently preparing AGMs to discuss with the parents the most viable options to sustain school feeding programmes in post-primary schools.
The Karenga District Education Officer, Romano Rose Dada, has warned that the withdrawal of support for school feeding programmes will worsen the school dropout rate in the region due to a possible hike in fees. The dropout rate in the region stands at over 40 percent.
He advised schools to open farmland and produce food, and ask the parents to supplement with food ratios brought in per term.
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