Discontinuing semi candidates is becoming a common practice for many so-called first-class schools that subject their learners to pre-registration tests, to determine whom they will register for national examinations, and whom to throw out, instead of helping them, improve, which is what school is for.
Alfred Malinga, the Chief Administrative Officer explained that the District does not have enough resources to support these schools. He is worried that they may not be able to accommodate learners when schools open after the lock down.
In 2017, over 150 teachers from Bududa district borrowed loans from Bududa Teachers Sacco at an interest of 8% per annum and a repayment period of two years. However, only 170 Million Shillings has been recovered from 100 teachers.
According to Dr Mwebesa, the re-opening of schools is highly dependent on the vaccination of teachers and students in tertiary institutions aged 18 years and above
New numbers from UNESCO, released this Thursday, show that schools are now fully open in 117 countries, with 539 million students back in class, ranging from pre-primary to secondary levels. Around 117 million students, representing 7.5 per cent of the total, are still affected by complete school closures in 18 countries.
Several primary school head teachers in Kampala are opposed to the staggered way of reopening as proposed by the government for safe reopening that calls for having two learning shifts per day or having alternate days for the learners.
According to Kidega, besides conducting lessons illegally, the teachers and pupils were not adhering to the COVID-19 standard operating procedures including wearing face masks, observing social distancing, hand sanitizing, with majority not vaccinated.
Today, as he concluded his three-day visit to Uganda, the Rotary International President Shekar Mehta pledged partnership with the government of Uganda to support distance learning through raising resources to procure supportive equipment like radios and televisions. He was addressing journalists after a visit to Makerere University which hosts one of the seven Rotary Peace Centres across the World.
The project will see 116 schools constructed. Of these, 84 schools will be constructed in non-refugee hosting districts while 32 new schools will be constructed in the refugee-hosting districts. at least 61 existing schools in refugee-hosting districts will also be expanded.
Hamza Ssempala, one of the children who was selling things on the streets, says that the project has changed his life and that of his mother tremendously. He now has access to books, coaching, and his mother is empowered financially.
Dr Safina Museene, the Commissioner in –charge of Health Education and Training at the Ministry of Education and Sports says a team of officials from the Ministry are in Gulu City to investigate the circumstance leading to the closure of the college and also find an amicable solution.
According to the complainants, Bududa has continued to be one of the worst-performing districts academically at national level due to the low funding of the education sector in Uganda. The complainants want the court to order the Ministry of Education and Sports to develop a national affirmative policy on UPE education that will see more monies sent to the schools.
“A stress test carried out on the capacity of MUELE servers were run through administering a quiz on Saturday last week. Whereas 4813 users were online, only 2474 equivalent to 51.4 percent were able to complete with submission of their work,” Kakumba said in a circular issued on Sunday.
According to the circular issued by the school, diploma students under government sponsorship would pay Shillings 1.47 million up from Shillings 1.27 million while private sponsored students would pay Shillings 2.5 million from the initial Shillings 2.077 million.
The district had targeted to vaccinate 1,829 teachers out of which, 1,189 are in the district and 640 in the Municipality. Kitgum Resident District Commissioner William Komakech, however, says by Thursday last week, only 427 teachers out of the targeted 1,829 had received their first and second jab.
According to officials from the health ministry, vaccinating teenagers or children aged 12 to 15 will be a waste of vaccines since children are not as susceptible to COVID-19 infections as adults are. They say the Pfizer vaccines will be set aside for persons in the high risk groups that will not be vaccinated
The learners had been scheduled to return to school on June 7, 2021, a day before the government announced a second lockdown. Before this, hospitals had recorded an overwhelming number of patients, and hundreds of them had been reported from schools, sending the lower primary classes further into slumber.
A primary six pupil at Kanjuki Parents Primary School in Kamira sub county got pregnant during the first COVID 19 Lockdown after a 29-year-old man lured her into sex with cash donations of less than 30,000 shillings.
