Plans are underway to establish a number of secondary and vocational schools in all regions of the country to cater for the children and dependents of the serving police officers.
The Acting Commissioner in charge of Formal Education SSP Jane Nakityo revealed this while addressing senior police officers from Kiira Region in a meeting held at the Jinja City based Civil Service College.
Nakityo who, along with others had accompanied the Senior Commissioner of Police (SCP) Ubaldo Bamunoba, Chief Political Commissioner (CPC) of the Uganda Police Force announced that the first one will be at Kikandwa in Wakiso district.
Kikandwa was chosen because of the high number of police officers in the area, meaning there are equally many children and dependents who should also receive education services from the government.
“…there is already an earmarked premise for Kikandwa which will be a pilot project before it is rolled out to the rest of the country and the process is on…”, she said.
She said the leadership of the Uganda Police is working in consultation and guidance from the Ministry of Education and Sports to ensure that police children and their dependents get quality education.
“…very soon advertisements inviting interested applicants will be placed in various platforms to apply and take up these jobs of serving Ugandans as teachers in these schools…” she disclosed.
However, Jane Nakityo noted with concern that most police primary schools within the barracks are occupied by children from the community because police officers have shunned them.
She encouraged police officers to take advantage of the schools by enrolling their children saying it’s embarrassing to find that the police officers do not value their own facilities.
Some police officers were heard murmuring that apart from the dilapidated state of the infrastructures, the levels of education and examination performance in police schools are appalling.
Jane Nakityo assured the police officers that everything is being done to make sure the police primary schools improve in all areas including performance in order to attract more pupils.
Citing CP Paul Nkore (former Kiira RPC) now serving as Commissioner Political Education at the police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala as an old pupil, Jane Nakityo pleaded with her colleagues to be proud of their own institution.
“…if only 20% of learners are children of the police and the rest belong to the community, don’t you think even the residents will lose confidence in the police schools…” she pleaded in rhetoric.
Information available indicates that there are 10 government-grants aided police primary schools out of 19 because 9 are privately run, and reports suggest that the government is planning to take over the private ones.
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