Private schools ask education ministry to expedite release of school calendar

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT | A section of private schools are worried about the government’s delay to release the school calendar.

The Ministry of Education has been adjusting the school calendar due to the circumstances brought by the pandemic.

In June, the government closed schools for the second time forcing the Ministry of Education to make adjustments in the academic year 2021. According to the amended calendar, the academic year was supposed to start on September 20, 2021, away from the original date of August 9, 2021.

The calendar was again changed in September when President Yoweri Museveni announced new dates of school reopening of education institutions. Post-secondary learners reported on November 1, and the other learners will report in January 2022.

Private schools are concerned that the delayed calendar is affecting their preparations for the new academic year.

Mike Kironde, the proprietor of Janan Schools says that he started planning for the reopening by putting in place the required standard operation procedures and encouraging both parents and the teachers to get vaccinated.

Kironde explains that it’s the school calendar that will inform them on the numbers of teachers they will require.

Last month, the Ministry of Education said that learners in P1, P2, P3 and the semi candidates will be given priority when schools reopen next year.

Patrick Nyonyintono, the Director of Kann High School says that the ministry came up with the idea of having a condensed curriculum, however, until to date, they have not known how to go about it especially for the candidates.

“We do not know how the government is planning to harmonize the condensed curriculum with the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB), all these things need to be sorted out by the ministry but nothing is being explained and the time is running out even without a school calendar, says Nyonyintono.

Rajab Kasule, Director at Kampala Islamic Secondary School says that the delays to release the school calendar make it hard for them as school owners to plan.

Kasule also says he is concerned about how the ministry will handle the condensed curriculum together with UNEB, to avoid affecting the candidate classes.

The Ministry of Education proposed a condensed curriculum that will concentrate on the core topics to enable the learners to cover the syllabus in the shortest time they will have before getting promoted.

Hajji Muhammad Serugo, the headteacher Kinaawa High School in Kawempe says he has decided to convene a meeting with the heads of departments as they wait for the school calendar.

Meanwhile, a section of private school owners under their umbrella Federation of Non-State Education Institution (FENEI) have asked the government to provide them with a recovery fund to be in a position to plan for the reopening.

Patrick Kaboyo, the FENEI General Secretary says that all they have to do before the reopening requires funds. He says that there is a need to retool the teachers and rehabilitate the infrastructure.

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