Africa-Press – Uganda. Yesterday we reported that the Ministry of Education Covid-19 task force has proposed strategies to be adopted by all schools countrywide to prepare and ensure safe reopening and operations of safe institutions. (See Daily Monitor December 2 “Govt sets new terms for reopening schools”
Some of the proposals include –all schools will be required to work with the Ministry of Health to implement the digital disease surveillance system, school Covid-19 surveillance and monitoring teams composed of sub-county chiefs , parish chiefs, the inspector of schools to reach education institutes at least once in two weeks will be put in place, government will hold the head of education accountable for effective implantation of standard operating procedures, ensure that only vaccinated teaching and non-teaching staff are allowed to work in the institution and that schools should allow all learners that have attained six years of age to join Primary One irrespective of whether they have been through early childhood programmes or preprimary programmes.
While these and others not mentioned here are all good and viable proposals, the question remains whether their implementation will be sustainable. It is the norm with many such proposals for the concerned parties to start out vigilant when it comes to implementation but wane in enthusiasm with time. How will we ensure that guidelines are adhered to from the start to the end of the schools term?
Another issue that cannot be ignored is the financial one. Are there any proposals being considered to aid parents and guardians foot the bills that will come with the proposed opening of schools in January? Are there arrangements with schools to be lenient on the time frame for when tuition fees must be fully-paid?
And in the unfortunate eventuality that schools have to close prematurely again, what will happen to the fees already paid? These are only a few of the numerous issues that need to be raised and solutions found during meetings held in preparation for the reopening of schools.
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