Exclusive; Jinja District head teachers petition USSSA over separation from Jinja City sports structures

By Emmanuel Sekago

Tensions within school sports administration in Busoga have escalated after head teachers under the Jinja District Secondary Schools Sports Association petitioned the leadership of the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA), demanding the immediate separation of Jinja District and Jinja City sports operations.

In a strongly worded petition dated May 14, 2026, and seen by Wallnetnews Digital, a total of 34 head teachers, comprising 11 from government-aided secondary schools and 23 from private schools participating in USSSA-sanctioned competitions, called for urgent reforms in the management of school sports within the district.

The petition was addressed to the USSSA Chief Executive Officer, the USSSA President, and the USSSA Electoral Commission under the subject: “Urgent Appeal for Separate Operation of Jinja City and Jinja District Games and Sports Activities Under USSSA.”

According to the head teachers, the current arrangement has negatively affected sports development, talent identification, fair competition and administration within Jinja District for more than five years.

The school heads argued that although Jinja City and Jinja District became separate administrative entities, games and sports management structures have continued operating jointly under officials largely aligned to Jinja City.

“For over five years, Jinja District Games and Sports Association has been managed by members of Jinja City games and sports structures,” part of the petition reads.

The petitioners claim that despite earlier guidance supporting independent operations, the Association of Secondary School Head Teachers in Jinja City allegedly resisted the separation process, resulting in continued joint management of finances and sports activities.

“Consequently, a single account continues to unite both district and city finances, crippling developmental work in the main district,” the document states.

The head teachers further argued that the arrangement has disadvantaged schools from Jinja District, particularly in access to competitions and talent exposure opportunities.

Among the concerns raised include claims that district schools rarely qualify for national competitions because all eight zonal qualification slots are consistently dominated by city schools.

“Many district schools have never been given an opportunity to compete at the national level. All eight zonal level slots are consistently taken by city schools, leaving district schools with no representation,” the petition reads.

The school administrators also accused city-based sports officials of operating within district structures in ways they described as exploitative and unfair to rural schools.

According to the petition, district schools continue to face heavy financial burdens transporting students to playgrounds located within Jinja City, limiting participation and affecting talent development.

“Only city schools participate at the USSSA zonal level, hampering talent discovery and development in Jinja District,” the head teachers added.

The petitioners maintain that separating Jinja District and Jinja City sports administration would create equal opportunities for learners, improve transparency and strengthen accountability within school sports management.

The head teachers proposed several interventions, including, Immediate separation of games and sports operations between Jinja City and Jinja District under USSSA, transfer of operational rights of the Jinja District Sports Association to what they described as competent and accountable district managers, Establishment of separate sports committees for Jinja City and Jinja District and Conducting independent elections for sports managers during the upcoming USSSA electoral process.

The petitioners argued that the current structure has undermined proper sports management and denied rural learners opportunities to showcase their abilities at higher levels of competition.

“We strongly believe that Jinja City and Jinja District can and should operate separately. Such separation would create fair opportunities for rural students to showcase their talents, improve service delivery and transparency in sports administration, reduce financial burdens on district schools and eliminate corruption and undue influence by city-based officials,” the document further states.

The head teachers now want USSSA leadership to intervene and resolve what they describe as a long-standing governance crisis affecting school sports development in the district.

“Your office holds the mandate to settle this long-standing issue that has killed proper sports management in our schools. We trust in your commitment to fairness, transparency and the growth of school sports across Uganda,” the petition concludes.