Museveni must address school issues

On May 24, 2023, President Museveni issued his third Executive Order fashioned, specifically, to address pressing issues, including ways of tackling the rampant problem of cattle rustling and environmental damage.

This document of about 18 pages coming barely two weeks after meeting a section of leaders from the Acholi sub-region, casts doubt on the amount of trust that the President has in the Parliament of Uganda and its legislative agenda. Mr Museveni did not actually hide his frustration with the corrupt elements in the security forces and officials in charge of the environment and forests.  

However, what is left to be seen is if these contemptuous individuals in charge of enforcement will obey the President’s orders given that they have been aiding the charcoal trade and depletion of wetlands around the country, well aware of the existing laws prohibiting such. 

While the Executive Orders that are granted under Article 99(2) of the Constitution may be a logical course of action, they come with controversies. Firstly, it cements the mounting arbitrary ‘orders from above’ culture that has become very pervasive in this country.

Secondly, it renders the Judiciary redundant because the major issues in the Executive Order would have been effectively addressed by a competent court.  

The foregoing reservations notwithstanding, the orders in the document were welcome as instant laws given the current national spirit. But there was only one key consideration missing and that is in the area of schooling. Which schools in our immediate communities do our children go to?

Why isn’t it a major concern to the President and his wife that I, for example, subject my child to travel on a boda-boda every morning from Camp Swahili Ward in Soroti City to a school in Opiyai Ward (a distance of about 8kms) leaving several government primary schools near my home? If the President was really concerned about our carbon footprint, then his Executive Order should have addressed this issue too once and for all. 

There are many benefits that will arise from an order mandating all Ugandans to enroll their children in the day schools within their communities. 

Like it is a practice in the United Kingdom, it reduces the distance that the children have to travel by motorcycles, commuter taxis, private cars and the old and often crowded school buses or shuttles. 

What would be more rewarding than walking your child to school every morning before leaving on foot or in a vehicle to your workplace? The moment we eliminate the business of crisscrossing our cities and even some rural areas for  “good schools”,  we will cut down on carbon emissions and, almost certainly, do away with the morning and evening traffic jam that is a menace in our capital city, Kampala. This means that our fight to save our environment will be an integrated and coordinated endeavour.   

Moreover, the most immediate benefit of this order or policy is that it will force all of us to pick an interest in the running of the schools within our communities. Since every Ugandan wants the best for their child, they will demand that the government fixes some of these forsaken schools.

We will also be more willing to contribute to fundraising drives and other strategies for school improvement. As a people, we may even, for the first time ever, ask informed questions regarding the relevance of our curriculum to our communities and beyond. 

There is no future in running around our cities looking for the so-called good schools when there is one decaying within your neighbourhood. Such a noble policy could be implemented gradually to allow the exhausted NRM government to fulfil its promise of at least one functional primary school per parish, one secondary school per sub-county, and one technical school in every district.   

Joan Alobo Acom is the Woman MP of Soroti City, the Vice Chairperson for Teso Parliamentary Group and  Secretary General of Youth League at the Forum for Democratic Change(FDC).