Ismael Mulindwa, the director in charge of basic education at the ministry of education, couldn’t resist describing parents who are sending their children for private lessons at this time as “stupid”.
The forms were part of 50 slots issued annually to the district before each academic year by Kampala International University- KIU and Kampala Metropolitan University to disadvantaged students under the recommendation of the District Executive Committee.
Staff at the testing labs intimated that many parents were taking their children for voluntary tests following reports that some schools had positive cases. Other learners were tested at health facilities after they presented with COVID-19 symptoms.
According to a UNSECO report, television lessons faced challenges in producing content, the absence of pre-existing partnerships for the design and broadcasting of the educational content, and also lacked collaboration between education specialists and the professionals of the audio-visual sector.
Michael Lakony, the LCV Chairperson says that they don`t have records of the students and are cash strapped and lack enough resources including transport to follow up and monitor their conditions.
The district with 117 primary schools and a population of over 45,000 learners have only 831 teachers with each school having an average of four to seven teachers.
Frank Nigel Othembi, LDC Executive Director told URN in an interview on Thursday morning that results normally come out well before graduation, which wasn’t possible this time around. “Seeing results is not a precondition for graduation,” Othembi said.
James Onono Ojok, the Gulu University Public Relations Officer told URN on Thursday morning that the students did not present with severe conditions and were placed under home-based care.
For the semi candidates who were returning on June 7 for their special term before getting promoted to candidate classes, some secondary schools have embarked on reintroducing long distance learning for the 42 days of lockdown on the sector.
According to Ismail Mulindwa, the director Basic and secondary education, they have managed to coordinate as relevant ministries of education, transport ,health and police to ensure that they clear the increasing numbers of learners without discriminating the non students found among students before the set deadline.
The adjustment came days after the government announced a 42-day closure of schools, to control COVID-19 infections in the face of a second wave of the pandemic. Under the new arrangement, the lower primary classes that were scheduled to return to school on Monday, June 7, will now report on July 19, 2021, alongside the Senior One class.
On Tuesday, well-wishers who include Gulu University, Ker Kwaro Acholi, the Acholi cultural institution and Guruguru Fraternity, a loose coalition of friends and business associates, dispatched six buses to rescue students trapped in Kampala following a spike in public transport fares.
In a letter to students on Monday, the Dean of Students Winfred Kabumbuli told the students to vacate the halls of residence by close of business on Monday except for international students.
A senior two student of Ndejje Senior Secondary school told URN on condition of anonymity with permission from his parent that there was no social distancing as learners studied and slept just like any other normal school days.
The lower primary classes were scheduled to return today, just a week after the return of the senior two class, the last group in the secondary category to return to school. The Senior One class returned in April and was yet to complete the school term. However, according to the President, the schools need to close for at least 42-days, effective today.
But according to Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the final year students had already started their final examinations by the time of the presidential declaration and are expected to return home immediately after their last paper. Examinations at Makerere University for final year students have been running since May 24, 202.
Shenah Nkinzi, a student from Bishop Secondary School, says that their parents had just returned them to school and used all the money, saying that they are struggling to find means of picking them from school.
As early as 7;00 a.m. parents had started arriving at different schools. However, they were all worried about the abrupt closure of schools by the government with the majority expressing concerns over school fees that they have just paid.
