Africa-Press – Uganda. The confusion and mystery over reopening of schools has escalated after ministry of Education officials and scientists disagreed and the matter has now been referred to Cabinet for further discussion and final decision.
The Education and Health officials met last Thursday but disagreed on the proposal for full reopening of schools and tertiary institutions.
Today Cabinet will receive a report from ministry of Education after showing the contentious issues that need to be resolved over the reopening of academic institutions to all learners. The ministers are expected to debate the issues and conclude the government position on reopening of schools.
Sources in the ministry of Education, who attended the Thursday inter-ministerial meeting but declined to be quoted, told Daily Monitor that scientists on the Covid-19 national taskforce rejected the ministry of Education proposal to have all learners go back to school.
“There was no conclusion. They couldn’t agree. They were still pulling ropes here and there because of Covid-19. The scientists are too protective but the children are allover in markets, playgrounds, on streets selling food…. They (children) were seen in elections. That is the bit of reasoning we have lost. They said they would take it [proposal] to Cabinet on Monday (today). There is a lot of pressure everywhere. Let’s wait and see,” the source said.
Ministry of Education permanent secretary Alex Kakooza confirmed that their inter-ministerial meeting last week was not conclusive, adding that they hoped to have a final position on the matter by end of this week.
“We are still discussing. We haven’t concluded. We will let you know around Tuesday or Wednesday,” he said.
Following the Thursday meeting, Education minister and First Lady Janet Museveni, had a fact finding mission on Friday at Makerere University to establish whether the institution was ready to receive all students.
This newspaper could not readily establish how many education institutions she visited or what facts she found out.
Dr Monica Musenero, the government’s epidemiology adviser, yesterday said there is need to establish where the virus is in the country, how soon the people can access the Covid-19 vaccine and assess schools’ ability to implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) before all learners are allowed back.
“We have a meeting tomorrow (today) where those decisions are going to be made whether schools are going to be opened for all learners or not. Our work is advisory. We are going to look at; can we have vaccine? We have waited for long and now we are so close to getting the vaccine? That’s a decision Cabinet will be looking at. Why should we have many people get infected and die when we can wait for two months for the vaccine?” she reasoned.
Before candidate classes and finalists reported last year, the Education ministry assessed their ability to accommodate them in the face of the pandemic without exposing them to risk.
The ministry’s report finally recommended that the available space could only admit finalists in tertiary institutions and candidates with a two-metre distance between learners. They noted wearing masks at all time in public and regularly washing hands with soap.
Schools were also required to have a Covid-19 committee and a nurse to support them in case a child presented signs.
Ministry of Health had also recommended that teachers be housed at school to limit movement and interaction with the public and a class was to have a maximum of 15 learners.
The recommendations for partial reopening, however, caused an uproar as many schools did not have extra facilities to accommodate the new changes.
It is not clear how the schools will manage once all learners are permitted in school.
Last week, National Council for Higher Education executive director, Prof Mary Okwakol, advised universities and other tertiary institutions not to reopen for non-finalists but instead asked them to conduct online studies for three months as government assesses the Covid-19 risk in the country.
Dr Musenero asked the public to adjust from the traditional way of doing things and limit contact with many people to control the virus spread.
“We have learnt and grown through Covid-19. It was unheard of that children could study at home. Most of our universities were like we can’t offer studies online. Covid-19 is going to restructure us whether we like it or not. The taskforce, with Health and Education ministries with guidance from scientists, will be presenting a proposal to Cabinet and what will be agreed on will be communicated,” Dr Musenero told Daily Monitor yesterday.
The effects Some parents are concerned that the continued silence of government on reopening of schools is creating dichotomy in education. They said some schools, especially private ones are already operating without government clearance. Private schools, some owned by members on the team which advises Ms Museveni on education, had by last week opened.
Sources further said after the Thursday meeting, some of the school proprietors asked parents to pick their children last Saturday. The parents are now wondering whether the school owners will refund the fees they had already paid in case government does not clear them to reopen.
