BY NELLY OTTO
JINJA
AS the school calendar opens for the first term in the New Year, 2024, Senior Presidential Advisor on Poverty Alleviation in charge of Busoga Mrs. Florence Mutyabule has described education as one of the cornerstones in wealth creation.
According to the roadmap released by the Ministry of Education and Sports, schools will open for the first term on Monday 5th February, 2024, and carry on with studies until 3 May, 2024, lasting 89 days. Term 2 will commence on 27th May, 2024, also lasting 89 days, ending on 23 August, 2024
Contrary to the current narrative that Busoga cannot get out of poverty, Mutyabule calls for concerted efforts from every stakeholder while emphasizing the tripartite roles of parents, teachers and the learners.
She has asked parents to make sure the children report to school on the first day as opposed to waiting for weeks under the mistaken belief that the teachers will subject them to cleaning the compound.
Mutyable has also appealed to the teachers to be considerate and allow the learners in school so that they settle and begin studies as parents struggle to find ways of clearing the fees and other requirements.
“…you cannot abdicate your role as parents then you expect miracles solely by the teachers, because everyone must play a role in order to realize the much desired results we always yearn…”,she stressed.
There has always been a kind of game blame by the stakeholders, especially the parents who accuse the teachers of not doing enough whenever results are released yet many parents have a negative attitude towards education.
The former head teacher-turned politician is also concerned that some schools are rigid and constantly try to have conversation and engagement with the parents as far as school fees payment and other issues are concerned.
“…you can imagine a situation where a learner has travelled hundreds of miles but is denied access to the school because of one ream of duplicating papers,…really are we not parents first…”,Mutyabule said in a rhetorical tone.
She has urged parents to support the education of their children by paying fees and cooperating with the teachers for the enforcement of discipline which should start from home.
Mutyabule points out that some parents simply provide all the requirements but fail to instill discipline in their children who end up being educated thugs with good papers but without ethics.
“…some have graduated with first class degrees from reputable colleges and universities and from powerful homes but have gone to waste due to drunkenness, corruption, immorality and drug abuse…”, she lamented.
Several reports have blamed the poor education service delivery on a number of factors, chiefly high rate of child labour, early marriage triggering high dropout rates in the region that has never experienced any war for many years.
It’s common to find children as young as 6 to 12 years engaged in sugar cane cutting, petty trade like selling mandazi and maize in trading centres while others collect empty bottles and scraps as sources of family income.
Notwithstanding the above challenges, Busoga still has some of the best performing schools like Busoga College Mwiri, Wanyange Girls School, Jinja College, Kiira College Butiiki, Budiini Girls Primary, St Gonzaga Budini SS, Jinja Central Academy, Kamuli Girls, Buckley High School, St Patrick Kigulu Girls School, Iganga Girls School, Iganga Boys School and Jinja Progressive Academy (JIPRA), among others.
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