SCHOOL REOPENING: Janet Museveni Rejects Proposal to Reopen International Schools

Education and sports minister Janet Museveni has announced her position on calls for the reopening of international schools before local education institutions.

Last month, President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni announced that universities and other tertiary institutions would reopen in November 2021 while primary and secondary schools will resume next year.

On October 01, Belgium Ambassador to Uganda Rudi Veestraeten visited State House where he asked government to allow international schools to reopen their gates to learners.

It is these international schools where children of the mighty and powerful in government, including members of the diplomatic community, attain high quality education while children of poor Ugandans go through a ‘half-baking’ system in UPE and USE schools.

Ambassador Veestraeten told Janet Museveni international schools, unlike poor Ugandan public and private schools, have the capacity to observe Covid19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The envoy also argued children of the mighty, powerful and diplomats will lose up to six months of learning if the Museveni government does not reopen international schools soon.

By the time Ugandan public and private schools reopen in January 2022, some learners will have lost almost two years of learning.

Weeks ago, the education ministry allowed international schools to reopen for examinations.

In response, Janet Museveni said: “”We don’t know when to say international schools can reopen but we do know they are very strict with SOPs but what if they do catch Covid-19 and go home. How shall we explain that to our community? And there is that misunderstanding anyway that we will reopen international schools but we’ll not reopen our own schools and that is very difficult to explain because we must work by the same principle.”

She advised international schools to continue classes online.

“Fortunately international schools can work online, and when it’s time for exams we allow them to go for open exams because we opened for our own schools for exams, the same principle must work both for international schools and local schools,” she said.