Africa-Press – Uganda. The Ministry of Education has said schools with huge numbers of students will be required to erect temporary structures such as tents before opening their doors to learners in January.
The State Minister for Primary Education, Dr Joyce Kaducu, said a school reopening strategy is being developed with consultations still ongoing to come up with outcomes that are safe and sustainable.
“One of the strategies is to see how we can follow the guidelines for Covid-19 and ensure that our learners are safe,” Dr Kaducu said yesterday while launching the ‘I can’t wait to learn’ approach at Maratatu Primary School at Kyangwali Refugee settlement in Kikuube District.
“That is why a school with more than 7,000 students should erect temporary structures to accommodate students outside classrooms. It can be a tent or any temporary structure,” she added.
Dr Kaducu also said the structures should be able to operate for six months until the government constructs permanent ones to accommodate all learners.
The minister said schools will also be required to adopt a double shift method that staggers the learning process in morning and evening.
The government is also set to roll out the digital agenda in all its schools to ensure that when learners get their holidays, they will continue with online lessons to make up the lost time during the pandemic-enforced breaks.
“It will not be holidays as usual,” Dr Kaducu said.
She also said the government plans to integrate the digital agenda in the curriculum of the teacher trainees to ensure that they also equip learners with the same skill.
Mr Jan Jaap Kleinrensink, the country director of War Child Holland, an NGO, welcomed reopening schools after nearly 20 months of closure.
“When schools reopen, the government should come up with strategies to attract learners who have been affected by the prolonged lockdown to return to schools,” Mr Kleinrensink said.
“Students who have undertaken our digital agenda have been attracted to tablets we use for teaching them because they find learning fun. Government should also look at such avenues,” he added.
Background
The government in June closed all institutions of learning due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the country. This was the second time it was closing the institutions with the first one in March last year. The government has already cleared institutions teaching medical students (August) as well as universities and other tertiary institutions (November).
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