Tell us reopening date, schools ask Museveni
What you need to know:
Schools were closed in March to minimise the spread of Covid-19 among learners. President Museveni in one of his addresses promised to support teachers with Shs2 billion of personal money. He also asked the ministry of Finance through the Microfinance Support Center to allocate Shs20b to the same Sacco to enable teachers access loans.
As the nation awaits the presidential address on Covid-19 on Sunday, owners of private schools have asked President Museveni to officially clarify on the date for reopening of schools for candidate classes.
Proprietors from various schools under the National Private Schools Association said the continued silence of the President and the ministry of Education on the official government position on reopening of academic institutions has caused confusion among the parents, teachers, learners and school administrators.
The chairperson of National Private Schools and Institutions Covid-19 committee, Mr Joseph Kiggundu, said yesterday that they had been fed on speculation in the media attributed to government officials regarding the reopening dates.
“We have seen indicators and signs of the reopening process but still, the absence of a concrete statement from government has created a lot of anxiety and confusion. The community, particularly the school proprietors, parents and learners have been fed on mere speculation, especially through social media, but government has rubbished this,” Mr Kiggundu said.
“The government should come out and tell us when schools will reopen so that we prepare adequately. President Museveni is going to speak tomorrow and we hope this will be his top priority,” he added.
On September 2, the Minister of Education, Ms Janet Museveni, also wrote to her Finance counterpart, Mr Matia Kasaija, asking him to release the capitation grants for schools for the third term since schools had been cleared to reopen for candidate classes and final year students on September 20.
Whereas the senior presidential adviser on pandemics, Dr Monica Musenero, affirmed that schools would reopen for candidates on September 20, neither the Education ministry nor the President has issued an official statement to confirm the reopening. Officials in the ministry of Education have declined to comment on the date for reopening of schools, saying the President is the one to make the official announcement.
Concerns
Mr Kiggundu yesterday said this ambiguity has caused uncertainty among schools, parents and the learners.
He said more than 200 private schools have been listed for auction for defaulting on loans following the indefinite closure of education institutions. He said the schools have failed to repay their loans since they no longer receive tuition from learners.
Mr Kiggundu said as a result, many teachers have also lost their jobs while others resigned and have resorted to casual labour.
He added that learners have also started engaging in casual labour while others, especially girls, have continued to be sexually abused, which has resulted in pregnancies..
Mr Kiggundu also said private teachers have not seen the Shs20b President Museveni directed the Ministry of Finance to give them for recovery.
He said the money was released to the Micro Finance Support Centre for teachers to access, but to date they have not received a single Shilling nor agreed on modalities of receiving it.
Dr Waako Musinge, the vice chairperson of the Federation of Non-State Education Institutions for eastern region, said schools pay millions of shillings in taxes annually plus remittances to the National Social Security Fund.
He said since schools have not been working or earning after the closure of schools in March, the government should consider waiving these taxes for some time to enable schools recover.
