We cannot ban what we are promoting! Education Minister Janet Museveni okays e-learning 

The Ministry of Education and Sports has okayed institutions of learning conducting online learn classes to continue teaching amid lockdown that saw school operations suspended across the country in a bid to control the spread of covid-19 pandemic.

Of recent, there has been a misconception in the media that the  Ministry had prohibited e-learning.

However, in her televised national address on Friday, the Minister of Education Janet Museveni said institutions can implement e-learning on condition that no student will be excluded.

“This is absolutely not true; we cannot be the ones banning what we are promoting. A number of institutions including Uganda Christian University,  Makerere University and several International Schools in Basic and Secondary levels have been utilizing e- learning; even before the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Ms Janet who is also the First Lady of Uganda.

“What we are doing as a Sector is to put forward a comprehensive sector-wide agenda to guide delivery of
formal Education through e-learning mechanisms  because it has implications on quality of education for
the country and its citizens. Once the ICT and E-Learning Framework is complete, we shall communicate
it to our stakeholders and the public at large because you all deserve.”

She, however, noted that since schools were not reopening soon, the ministry was ensuring continuity of learning for all students in primary and secondary school through the already said homeschooling programme which will see the government giving out a radio set for every household, two television sets for every village and self-study materials.

“What we are learning from our local trends of Covid-19 as well as experiences from countries that had closed but later reopened institutions of learning is that we need to exercise patience and self-restraint on the matter of normal resumption of institutions learning,” she said.

“We are in advanced stages of developing home-schooling study materials for the entire primary and secondary education levels. We will provide printed learning materials for all subjects and all learners. In addition to that, all lessons in the printed materials form shall also be broadcast through the radio and TV stations.”