LEADERS URGE PARENTS TO KEEP CHILDREN OUT OF MARKET DURING SCHOOL TIME

People gathered at a livestock market in Odramacaku last friday. Photo by Sunday Amandi

By Sunday Amandi

Arua city

The leaders of Odramacaku have are called upon parents to send their children of school going age to school and prevent them from loitering in the market on market days.

Odramacaku market, which is located along the boundary between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, attracts a good number of people from both sides, and among these are the children of school going age who are engaged in petty activities instead of being at school.

According to Edodi Marino, the manager of the livestock market at Odramacaku, though a number of these children come from DRC since they are for their holidays, the ones from Ugandan side are also involved.

He urges the parents to keep their children at school to acquire knowledge for doing better businesses in the future, “I have ever mobilized these school going children not to be in the market, but sometimes the parents explain that the children have helped them to bring the animals to the market, for someone to do business well, it needs education so we must take this time to maintain the children at school”, Edodi said.

Eshau Juruni, the chairperson of Nunu cell where odramacaku market is situated urges the higher authorities to intervene in the matter, “There are some parents who bring these children claiming that, they come to buy scholastic materials, when we were at sub-county level, we used to have operations against this, am urging the higher authorities to at least have some rules and regulations” Eshau said.

It’s important for children to fast go to school and learn before involving themselves in business as education helps in critical thinking and problem solving skills which are essential in running a successful business.