No reopening of schools next week- Minister Muyingo clarifies

There is no plan in place yet, for reopening schools, the minister in charge of higher education, John Chrysostom Muyingo has said.

The government through the education ministry is currently carrying out consultations and no decision has yet been made on when schools can re-open.

Muyingo made the remarks while officiating at the release of the Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board – UBTEB last Friday in Kampala.

This follows reports that schools would re-open next week and give priority to pupils in primary one to three and students in senior one to two.

Muyingo says that no such decision has been made yet because stakeholder consultations are still ongoing. He says they do not have a formula on how schools will re-open or even which classes will be allowed to continue or not.

“I have been reading many newspaper articles about schools reopening and I am sure some of you are confused. First of all, it’s not true that the government or my ministry has come up with dates for school reopening. This is not true. You are saying two weeks, three weeks. No. We are still planning, consulting. At an appropriate time, formal communication will be made. What you hear, what some of my colleagues have been saying are merely consultations. At the end of all these consultations, our ministry will present to Cabinet which has to make a formal communication (on schools reopening)” Muyingo explained.

Early last week, the education ministry met school proprietors and teacher’s professional bodies to discuss how schools can re-open in a safe way.

Some of the proposed measures were prioritizing classes that have not resumed learning since March 2020 and strengthening COVID-19 surveillance systems.

Muyingo says schools were closed to protect the lives of so many learners that were at risk following the lifting of the first lockdown. As schools remain closed for more than two months now, the minister urged teachers to use the time to get vaccinated COVID-19.