My appeal to the minister of Education on Bridge schools

I am a Bridge Schools parent of three children and national chairperson of Bridge Parents Teacher Association (PTA). I read an article by Education minister Janet Museveni in the New Vision of February 15, 2018 titled ‘On enforcement of school standards and charges’ with a heavy heart.

Every parent wants his or her children to have the best education since it is an insurance for a brighter future. Some parents can afford to pay millions of shillings to take their children to top schools in the country. Better still, some parents have the resources to fly their children to schools in the UK, US, India and other countries considered to have the best education.

However, there are hundreds of thousands of parents like me who must worry about having enough money to feed and clothe our families as well as educate our children.
Therefore, what happens to parents like me who cannot afford expensive schools, but desire the best education for their children?

I believe that all of us regardless of our economic status have a right to quality education for our children. We hope that our children, with God’s blessings, will do better than us and their children better than them.

When Bridge first opened its doors in our communities, we were informed about the quality of education that was offered in the “temporary structures” as the minister highlighted in her statement. Since the school fees was affordable (for purposes of clarity let me state that I pay 80,000) per child, many of us decided to enrol our children. No doubt whatsoever, we have seen a great improvement in their performance.

Jane Dada, a daughter of one of the parents on the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) leadership, was one of the best pupils in the recently released Primary Leaving Examination results. Jane has since been admitted to Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School on scholarship for four years. This is in areas where many children leave the classroom without being able to read or write. Is this not amazing.

I really want to appeal to Ms Museveni, who is also the mother of the nation, to engage with us parents and hear our side of the story. We would want to share with her why in spite of closure threats and actions, we have remained committed to Bridge schools in our communities and why they are making a difference.

But let me address myself to the moral and unethical question raised by the minister, which she obtained from “unsolicited submission” to borrow her words. “We are investigating these chilling allegations….” She elaborated requesting us the parents to “take the safety of our children as top priority”. But what are the exact allegations?
Last year, at an official function, one of the ministers reportedly said Bridge was teaching “homosexuality.” When asked to present his evidence, the said minister just looked on without any response. As parents of Bridge, we request that the detailed evidence on the grave disturbing remarks be shared with us.

We appreciate the concern of government for the good of our children and as parents, we feel offended when there are allegations that seem to suggest that we do not value our moral values and culture as a people under God. Many of us play critical roles in the church. These are our children and we want the best for them. We want to raise morally upright citizens.

Similarly, our children would have been the first to raise the red flag about any “immoral and unethical concerns”, if any existed, through the interactions that we have had with them when they return home.

We the parents of Bridge schools feel that our voices need to be heard. We do not have much money, but we have hope and faith. We choose these schools for our children because of what we believe in and the difference they have brought in the lives of our children.
I want to thank the Minister of Education and hope that the ministry will support Bridge to fully get licensed as one of the many partners of government providing faith and hope to millions of children in Uganda.

Mr Nyanzi is the Bridge schools PTA chairperson.
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