FDC opposes move by Government to ban operation of Nursery Schools

The opposition Forum for Democratic Change, FDC party has opposed the move by Government to ban nursery schools until COVID-19 pandemic is completely defeated.

The Minister of Education, also first lady Janet Kataha Museveni made the announcement last week, arguing that it is hard to protect the little children from catching Coronavirus.

She therefore said that all children shall stay home and join P.1 at the age of 5 years.

However, John Kikonyogo the FDC party deputy spokesperson says it is important for children to attend pre-school or else the country will have a generation of children who have missed a stage.

“Most of our children don’t go to nursery to learn, they go to play, do group work, that’s a formative stage which we need badly. Now we are going to deny our children this formative stage, we are going to have a generation of children who have missed a stage. And the government has no plans to against this” Kikonyogo said.

He noted that several people have also invested a lot of money in setting up these nursery schools and wondered what government is going to help them financially.

Kikonyogo further argued that instead of employing housemaids, parents have been leaving children at Daycare centres where they would play with other children, but that lack of interaction with others will affect them.

“They are doing this in the guise that they are preventing them from COVID-19. As we talk now, most of these children are playing together every day. I think it is even easier to control them when they are at school that when at home” Kikonyogo argues.

He added that Ugandan leaders have been in power for too long and have lost touch with what is on ground, hence the wrong and uninformed decisions being made.