First lady and education minister Janet Museveni has appealed to teachers, parents, students and all other education sector stakeholders to keep patient as government continues to consider safe options on school reopening.
Ms Museveni said she was disturbed by statements made by those calling for the immediate reopening of schools without prioritizing safety.
In a statement issued September 13, Janet Museveni urged for patience as staff get vaccinated ahead of possible school reopening.
“At the end of the day, we choose to be patient and continue to vaccinate our teachers, learners above 18 years of age and the vulnerable population so that we can be confident enough that we have given some protection to a critical mass of our population,” said the first lady.
“These can provide a safety net to all our people as much as possible. Therefore, if you would have a little faith in your government and trust that it cares about your well-being, you would know that government has not left schools closed to punish you, but rather, to protect you from harm.”
She also encouraged Ugandans to keep trusting God to take the country through the Covid19 pandemic which has disrupted the acdemic calendar.
“We are confident that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is our God will bless the education sector in this unprecedented season. We have seen His miraculous blessing upon the PLE, UCE and UACE results of the 2020 academic year. Genesis chapter 26 testifies to the fact that with God no situation is insurmountable. Isaac sowed in a year of famine, but he reaped a hundredfold,” she noted.
“I am confident that in this ‘famine’ our children’s education will still flourish. Therefore, as we pray and also vaccinate all those that can be vaccinated, I believe that we will go through this difficult season, for I am certain that God is on our side. Like all difficult seasons we will get some scars, but we shall be victorious at the end of it all.”