SCHOOL REOPENING: Here are the Proposed Guidelines for Schools

Education sector stakeholders charged with the responsibility of putting in place guidelines for safe reopening of schools have made a number of proposals ahead of the January 2022 reopening of institutions.

Schools have been closed for almost two years since March 2020, with physical learning disrupted by Covid19 lockdowns.

But in his recent addresses on the Covid19 response, President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni made it clear that he will reopen the education sector — and all other sectors of the Ugandan economy — in January 2022.

The education ministry, headed by first lady Janet Kataaha Museveni, is working around the clock to release a revised school calendar and guidelines for safe reopening.

SURVEILLENCE

The proposed guidelines include the adoption of the digital disease surveillance system (M-Track).

M-Track will be used to report new cases in schools to ensure that administrators and teachers do not hide infection cases as was the case months ago.

The education ministry has also proposed that sub-county structures monitor cases in schools through their Covid19 surveillance and monitoring teams.

Sub-county chiefs, parish chiefs and school inspectors will sit on the sub-county surveillance and monitoring committees.

These will inspect each school once every fortnight.

SOPS, VACCINATION

The education ministry will require headteachers, principals or any other head of institution to take the lead in enforcing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) such as face mask wearing and handwashing.

The ministry is also expected to direct school heads to block any teachers or non-teaching staff who are yet to be vaccinated from accessing the premises of the education institution.

The head of institution will also be responsible for reporting any new Covid19 cases as well as playing the supervisory part in terms of disease surveillance.

OTHER GUIDELINES

• All learners aged six to start Primary One
• Promotion of non-candidate pupils and students to the next level
• Adoption of continuous school-based assessment instead of end of year promotional exams for non-candidate classes

The proposed guidelines have not been approved by the education taskforce on school reopening. An official school reopening plan and revised school calendar are expected in coming days.