Religious leaders fight government
Religious leaders under their umbrella body the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda-IRCU have hit at the government for creating a policy that permits pregnant and lactating mothers to attend school.
While announcing the reopening of schools last year, the Education Minister Janet Kataha Museveni directed all schools to accept the above category of learners as a part of a policy to have all children back in school.
However, the directive has suffered a lot of criticism from a section of the public and religious leaders.Recently, bishop William Sebaggala attached to Mukono Diocese under the Church of Uganda openly criticized the move as immoral.
Ssebagala warned head teachers in the Church of Uganda founded schools not to admit pregnant and breastfeeding learners saying it contradicts their original stand to base a good education on imparting discipline and knowledge.
Now, in a joint statement released by the IRCU, the chairperson, Archbishop Church of Uganda, His Grace Dr Stephen Samuel Kazimba Mugalu, is asking the government to revise the policy and substitute it with more realistic options.
Religious leaders fight government
The statement was issued during a retreat in Masaka onTuesday, for the IRCU members and Buganda clan leaders.
The Archbishop says the government has overlooked certain key factors like access to emergency health care and antenatal services for expectant student-mothers ,to which schools don’t have the capacity to handle.
He says the Inter-Religious Council has resolved to set up a joint response team that will institute a framework to monitor teenage pregnancies and also provide psychosocial support to teenage mothers and fathers, as well as trying to address the other associated aftereffects that include among others stigma.
Kazimba has also called on the government to involve all stakeholders in their endeavors to ensure that everyone plays a role in the policies.
