Stranded Students
Starting today June,7th 2021 until further notice, no students are allowed to stay within the precincts of schools.
This comes after a directive from the President halting all educational institutions in the country from studying for the next 42 days.
Museveni said this on Sunday evening while delivering his covid 19 address for the 1st time since the second wave of the pandemic hit Uganda.
He ordered that by 8 am, all institutions of learning take a break to minimize overcrowding and easy transmission of the virus.
He also allowed for learners up to 10th June 2021 to ensure they have traveled back home.
“There is an increasing number of clusters of infections in schools since March 2021, remember last year I sent home 15 million children, and when those children were in villages, I didn’t hear of any infections now when we reopened the schools, we believe this number is much higher, only that some schools are not reporting”.Museveni said.
However by lunchtime today, various schools are still not free of learners and teachers .
A number of students on boarding section remain stuck at school for lack of transport to return them home.
Stranded Students
They argue that the directive came in swiftly without prior warning making it difficult to obtain transport for travel.
Museveni says 43 educational institutions across the country have registered cases of covid 19 in students.
Meanwhile the streets of Kampala have stranded learners with luggage littered across all corners,especially downtown.
When asked by our reporter, some of the students say they lack transport back home since the transport fares are now high,they also expressed anger with the current government for abandoning them .
They say now that schools have been shut down again,they will resort to looking around for odd jobs or get married.
”’what does Museveni want us to do now,get pregnant?because that is what am going to do ,get married and become a mother since education has failed..” one of the students at Kitante primary school said.
His announcement comes as schools were preparing to welcome another batch of students for their final term of the academic year 2019/2020 this month.
The Ministry of Education and Sports calendar was allowing for P1, P2, and P.3 learners were supposed to report on June 7, P4 and P5 learners break off on June 4, while P.6, S.3, and S.5 are meant to report back next week for the special term.
So far the highest numbers of infections reported in schools are in Kampala, Oyam, Wakiso, and Masaka districts.
The president has also directed that all teachers get the Covid 19 jabs before they return to teaching at school.
Museveni said those who shun the jab will not be allowed anywhere near the learning institutions.
Uganda first announced the closure of schools because to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020 sending 15 million children on unprecedented holidays.
