Africa-Press – Uganda. The Minister of Education and Sports, Ms Janet Museveni, has called for more effort in parenting of children amid the surging teenage pregnancies.
Uganda has seen a spike in teenage pregnancies following the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown for almost two years.
The education sector has borne the brunt of the restrictions, with the school calendar adversely interrupted since Uganda reported its first Covid case in March last year.
“There is an outcry in the public that many of our school-going girls have become pregnant. Unfortunately, this has been attributed to the closure of schools and institutions,” Ms Museveni said in a speech that was delivered on her behalf by Mr John Chrysostom Muyingo, the State minister for Higher Education during the start of a two-day education review workshop in Kampala yesterday.
Ms Museveni, who also is the First Lady, wondered why children cannot be safe in their homes with their parents and guardians.
The workshop intends to evaluate the performance of the sector from July 1, 2020 to June 30 this year.
It will also set priorities for Financial Year 2022/2023. Lessons will also be drawn from the discussions on reopening of schools as well as help guide on the implementation of activities for the current financial year (2021/22).
Ahead of schools reopening in January next year, Ms Museveni said preparations are underway.
Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Ireland, Mr Kevin Colgan, called for counselling students before the reporting date.
“We need to prioritise and resource the psychosocial wellbeing of children as schools reopen but also, those who have experienced additional trauma must be supported accordingly,” he said.
While addressing journalists on the sidelines of the workshop, Mr Muyingo urged parents to start making preparations for the reopening of schools.
“As you celebrate Christmas, please, save something that will enable you to send your child to school next month,” he said.
During the workshop, a customised, SMS-based mobile learning platform was launched.
Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, the director of education standards in the Education ministry, said the platform is designed to automatically track learning. He said content on the platform is aligned with that of the national curriculum.
The targeted learners for the pilot programme are pupils in Primary Four, Five, Six and Seven as well as those in lower secondary (Senior One and Two).
Mr Vincent Ssozi, the assistant commissioner in-charge of statistics, monitoring and evaluation at the Education ministry, urged institutions and parents to embrace the Education Management Information System to effectively manage learners’ information.
The system will have a web portal for creating and accessing user accounts as well as updating data about learners to reduce the cumbersome traditional way of documentation in schools.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
