Enforce order on school opening, closing hours
The order by Ms Janet Museveni this week to stop schools from opening as early as 6am and not close as late as 8pm has been long in coming. Although belated, the Education and Sports minister’s decision is spot on.
For far too long, children even as young as four to five years have been subjected to sleep deprivation. Parents have to yank children out of bed as early as 5am and force them out of the house and get them onto the road to school by 6am. These youngsters are confined to school up to as late as 8pm, in worst-case scenarios.
Both parents and the school authorities seem to have connived to deny children their rights to be young, relax, play and enjoy a free and homely environment outside schools’ restrictive walls.
This gruelling school regime means our children are left with about four hours to enjoy the cosy and comfortable home environment. Besides, the care and role of bringing up children has largely been surrendered to schools. This is nearly a deliberate separation of children from families and hijacking the right and duty for parents to care for and bring up their children.
Ms Museveni’s threat to dismiss head teachers who will violate her directive is welcome. But what is crucial is also probing what just could have forced this situation, especially for private schools, to impose these ungodly hours upon children?
And why have these schools, with reckless abandon violated a clearly spelt out Ministry of Education and Sports calendar without any reprimand? Will this fresh order be followed through by the schools that have for long violated the laid down rules?
What is required at once is for Ms Museveni and her team of school inspectors to institute a rigorous enforcement of this long-violated school calendar. Similarly, Ms Museveni should firmly stamp her feet on her order and apply the same strict enforcement across both public and private schools.
The Education and Sports ministry should, therefore, avoid any selective enforcement as has been witnessed in the closure of only private schools that failed to meet the ministry’s set minimum standards, yet letting scot free equally ill-equipped public schools.
Let every parent, teacher, and responsible officials, allow children to be children so that they sleep, rest, and wake up at appropriate hours to go to school, stay in class and return home to ample rest.
The order for schools to open only at 8am and close at 5pm is right and should be rigorously enforced.
The issue: School opening and closing hours.
Our view: The Education and Sports ministry should, therefore, avoid any selective enforcement as has been witnessed in the closure of only private schools that failed to meet the ministry’s set minimum standards, yet letting scot free equally ill-equipped public schools.
