The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Education and Sports has allowed public and government-aided schools to divert money meant for capitation grant to renovations of structures ahead of the school reopening.
The 62 Billion Shillings is part of what was allocated as capitation grants for schools in the current financial year. The grant normally is used by schools to procure instructional materials, facilitate co-curricular activities, school management, and payment of utilities like electricity and water.
Now as schools prepare for the reopening, the ministry says the money should be used to purchase basic amenities for observance of SOPs and to carry out minor repairs like roof leaks and face-lifting.
Dr. Dennis Mugimba, the spokesperson of the Education ministry says they carried out an assessment on the status of schools and discovered that many were in need.
The need for repairs follows the prolonged closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more than a year, some schools have remained closed as a measure to forestall the spread of the virus.
School administrators and teachers returned to their homes leaving the institutions unattended to. Due to neglect, many school structures have been vandalized or collapsed. Some of the schools have also lost property such as furniture and solar panels to thieves.
Mugimba says the ministry has also established that there are some schools that may not be in a position to receive a facelift because they are not plastered, or the existing structures need a considerable amount of repairs.
In the same development, the ministry has identified a total of 51 schools that were devastated by natural disasters. Mugimba says such schools are going to be provided with temporary facilities to enable continuity of learning upon reopening. Some of these schools include; Lwampanga Roman Catholic Primary School and Kyesibirye Primary School in Nakasongola district which was submerged by floods.
In situations where schools might have been damaged beyond renovations, the ministry advises parents to take the affected children to the nearest affordable schools of their choice.
With the pending reopening, different stakeholders have asked the government not to carry out any budget cuts in the education sector. They say the sector will need all the money it can get to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Hamis Mugendawala, the head of Policy Research and Innovation at the National Planning Authority (NPA) says in their report to the Ministry of Finance, they had already indicated the need for the education sector to be given priority while budgeting for the financial year 2022/2023.
“The sector has suffered budget cuts in the running financial year, but we have already highlighted that the ministry of education will need more sources as it recovers from the pandemic, we hope that they are given more funds,” said Mugendawala.
In their report on school reopening, NPA noted that the Ministry of Education will need some 4.31 Trillion Shillings to support the process of unclogging the education system upon reopening schools.
NPA assumed that on reopening, the education system is most likely to get unprecedented pressure on facilities and learning needs with an increased demand for teachers, instructional materials, and infrastructure which all call for additional funding.
The Chief of Basic Education and Adolescent Development at UNICEF, Nabendra Dahal says that even if the government obtains all the required resources, there is a need to prioritize and focus on activities that directly support learners to ensure that there are measurable and visible outcomes in the end.
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