Unprepared Schools Given 1 Week to Set Up Basic Requirements for Reopening

Schools that scored between 50% and 59% during school inspection for reopening have been given 1 week to put in place necessary requirements to facilitate their reopening.

Following Government’s decision to reopen education institutions on October 15, 2020 beginning with final year classes, the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) of the Ministry of Education and Sports working with Local Governments conducted a targeted inspection of all institutions.

The focus of the inspection was to ensure readiness of education institutions to effectively implement the guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Ministry of Education on September 24, 2020.

Education institutions that scored at least 60% have been issued with a certificate of compliance authorizing them to reopen effective October 15, 2020 as ordered by president Museveni.

However, schools that scored between 50% and 59% have been denied certificates and according to the statement issued by Alex Kakooza, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports, such schools have been given one week to put in place necessary requirements to facilitate their reopening.

“Institutions which scored 50% to 59% have been given a week to put in place the missing basic requirements to comply with the SOPs. These institutions will be reassessed after a week and if found compliant, will be allowed to reopen,” said Kakooza.

He however added that schools that have scored below 50% are considered unready are not allowed to reopen because they pose a high risk of the spread of COVID-19 among the learners and school staff.

Kakooza noted that more than 80% of the schools in the 148 Local Governments which submitted inspection results qualified to open and about 1% do not meet the requirements to reopen.

“To support effective implementation of SOPs, the Government through Ministry of Education and Sports and Ministry of Health, is distributing two standard face masks to all learners in both public and private education institutions. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, we will be rolling a countrywide programme of training all education institution managers and selected staff at sub county level on better appreciation of the SOPs for effective implementation,” Kakooza added.

He further noted that the Education Ministry plans to work with Local Governments to continually monitor and support education institutions for strict adherence to the safety measures provided under SOPs.

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