Schools will only open if given green light by health ministry – JC Muyingo

The Ministry of Education and Sports will not re-open schools until their counterparts in the health sector guarantee the safety of learners.

State Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo states that despite increasing calls from both parents and school administrators for re-opening of schools with some standard operating procedures, the ministry can only do so under the guidance of the Ministry of Health.

“For us we are ready to open schools as soon as the minister of health and her team tells us the life of our children is safe. The responsibility of any government is to ensure that Ugandans are safe and healthy,” he said.

The minister made the statement on Thursday, during a visit by his team to Kasese district to assess the extent of damage caused by floods on educational institutions. He said that for now, the ministry will continue supporting the new digital learning approaches adopted by the government to keep children learning during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

Muyingo encouraged parents and school administrators to acknowledge the times and support their children’s learning at home. He challenged leaders to ensure children are not diverted into other responsibilities.

Kasese District Education Officer-DEO, George Minja however called on the Ministry of Education to expedite plans to re-construct schools which were destroyed by floods in May this year.

He says if the schools were to re-open many children in the district would have nowhere to study from since their schools were completely or partially destroyed. The situation is worsened by displaced persons who were relocated in the remaining schools. Kasese lost nine schools to floods.