Gov’t to open 94 new secondary schools countrywide, says Minister Janet Museveni

The Minister for Education and Uganda’s First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni has said government has finalized plans to open 94 new secondary schools across the country.

The Minister said this during the official release of the 2020 UCE examination results on Friday at State House, Nakasero in Kampala.

Mrs. Museveni said she was concerned that 4,324 fewer candidates registered for UCE in 2020 compared to 2019 and noted that this is moved to make public secondary school affordable and accessible, government is continuing with efforts to ensure every sub-county in the country has at least a government school.

She said the technical team at Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) and the Ministry attributed the reduction largely to circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic thus the need for new secondary schools to try and cover the gap.

“The NRM government is taking great strides in bringing an affordable and accessible public Secondary School to each sub-county that has none. By God’s grace, once the lockdown measures have been eased, my Ministry shall be ready to commission at least 95 brand new fully government-owned and complete Secondary Schools,” The Education Minister, Mrs. Museveni said.

According to the Minister, each of the 95 new schools is already staffed with 31 teaching staff including the headteacher to bolster the teaching standards.

“These new Secondary Schools: fondly referred to as Seed Schools, are non-boarding Schools with a capacity for 400 students for both boys and girls,” Mrs. Museveni added.

The minister further noted that facilities at the yet to be commissioned schools include six classrooms, fully equipped science laboratories, a library and ICT laboratory, a 400-seater multipurpose hall, and four (04) staff houses among others.

Commenting about the reopening of schools, Mrs Museveni said government is considering a staggered reopening process after the end of the lockdown.

“Therefore, what I want to ask you all my listeners is to trust your government and know that we are trying to do everything humanly possible to protect our people from this enemy of COVID-19. Where we fail, it is not because we have not tried or because we do not care. So please listen to what the President will say to the country tonight because it will inform what we will do, going forward,” she said.