Reassurance needed for parents to free students

Several questions remain unanswered for parents, learners, school owners, and teachers. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

The issue: Schools 
Our view: The Education ministry needs to quickly answer the tough questions before schools reopen and ensure our children are safe from Covid-19.
 

The announcement by President Museveni that schools reopen on October 15 is welcome. But the declaration leaves several questions unanswered. What is more, the Ministry of Education, which is tasked with clearing the air on these unanswered questions, has been mute on the issues. 
Moreover, the country, after waiting for six months since schools were closed, has come out more confused on the way forward. Several questions remain unanswered for parents, learners, school owners, and teachers.
For now, there is no definite calendar for end of the new term, beginning of the Third Term and when national exams will be held for candidates in Primary Seven, Senior Four, Senior Six and finalists year in tertiary institutions, including universities. 
The Government and the Ministry of Education also need to be clear on what the heat of coming campaigns and elections in January and February will mean for the school calendar. Will there be another interruption or not?
Similarly, parents are worried whether the fees they paid for First Term will be written off even as their children did not learn as schools were shut on March 18, barely two weeks into the new term. Or will they be asked to pay anew and forget what was paid?
These answers are needed for the worried parents, who have since lost jobs, businesses, and earnings during Covid-19 lockdown. This means many parents will be hard-pressed to pay up fees and need to be provided with affordable and flexible terms of paying their dues.
Furthermore, the parents and children are worried that schools were shut to stop the spread of Covid-19. But with the cases soaring and with contact tracing proving difficult, the reopening of school makes the situation more perilous. 
While it is now clear how Covid-19 spreads and how it can be checked, there is little assurance that enough measures have been instituted to encourage parents to send back children to school.
Indeed, parents are right to get troubled over the risks of their children getting the disease while at school. Already, costs of testing and treating Covid-19 are unaffordable with national health facilities for isolation and treatment overwhelmed. 
The parents need to be reassured on how government intends to protect their children and handle them should these cases break out in primary, secondary and higher education institutions.
Nevertheless, the gesture by President Museveni to discuss with private school owners the challenges of managing Covid-19 threats, power and water bills is welcome. Likewise, the Education ministry needs to quickly answer the tough questions before schools reopen and ensure our children are safe from Covid-19.