Education Ministry wants parents to opt for nearest schools

Following the interruptions created by the COVID-19 epidemic, parents are being advised to explore adjacent schools for their children.

The epidemic has caused the education of over 1.5 million Ugandan students to be disrupted after the government took extraordinary steps to close all educational facilities in order to stop the virus from spreading.

Due to an increase in new instances, the government declared a two-time countrywide lockdown in March 2021 and June 2021, causing incalculable hardship. Students, particularly those studying in Kampala outside their home regions, were unable to return home when transportation expenses were increased.

It needed the help of the police, army, and business community to organize transportation to rescue students who were stuck at schools and bus terminals. Hundreds of kids caught the illness at school and then passed it on to their parents, resulting in further deaths.

Dr Joyce Moriko Kaducu, the State Minister for Primary Education, believes that parents should take note of the disruptions produced by Covid-19 and invest in standardizing local schools in their communities, rather than sending their children to schools that are far away.
Dr. Moriko stated that the Ministry is presently doing research to assist establish a policy roadmap that would encourage parents to support the concept of improving local schools.

Patrick Robert Larubi, a father, former teacher, and civil rights activist, believes that the government should engage in altering parents’ mindsets so that they invest in local schools rather than believing that anything outside meets the required requirements.

George Ayibi Butele, the Nwoya District Education Officer, claims that parents who prefer to send their children to far-flung schools with higher standards have the financial means to do so, and that it is difficult to limit their choices.

To keep learning going after schools were closed, the Education Ministry began broadcasting digital courses over radio and television across the country to make up for the time missed due to the pandemic lockdown.

Moriko also stated that they are working on a comprehensive plan for reopening schools in order to complete the education cycle, which would be based on mass immunization of students and instructors against the pandemic.