Namugongo schools close ahead of celebrations

Several schools in Kira Municipality near Namugongo shrines closed yesterday due to the Martyrs’ Day celebrations slated for tomorrow
The school authorities say the temporal closure is due to the congestion around Namugongo since the day attracts believers from across the world.
Mr Steven Mbabazi, the head teacher of Blue Print Nursery and Primary School in Kira Municipality, yesterday said they closed their premises five days ago and will resume studies on Monday.

“We have asked our pupils to stay home for five days due to Martyrs’ Day celebrations because our learners cannot compete with the traffic that comes along with the celebrations,” Mr Mbabazi said.
“There are always many people and our school driver may fail to locate the pupils, some roads will also be closed,” he said.

Mr Mbabazi noted that breaking off due to the celebrations has always happened ever since the school started 12 years ago.
Mr Francis Kalenzi Amooti, the head teacher of Namugongo View Pre and Primary School in Kira Municipality, also called off lessons for five days.
“We have pupils that walk to school and we care about their safety. Not all people that turn up for the day have good intentions. We may not know their intentions, that is why we have asked them to stay home,” Mr Kalenzi said.

“We shall resume classes on Monday. The breaking off for holidays due to the Martyrs’ Day celebrations has been a norm for all the 17 years our school has existed. It comes with challenges such as delay in the coverage of the syllabus, five days is a lot of time,” he added.