News
Deadly Kapchorwa crash prompts suspension of school trips
"As an immediate precautionary measure, we must do something about the safety of our children. All school trips and education excursions are suspended with immediate effect until further notice," directs acting education minister Dr. John Chrysestom Muyingo.
By: Admin ., Journalist @New Vision
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KAPCHORWA BUS CRASH
Edited and presented by Joseph Kizza
Reporting by Eddie Ssejjoba, Juliet Lukwago, Stuart Yiga, Ponsiano Nsimbi
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1:46 PM
The pain of losing a very young loved one.
Immediately below is an inconsolable Nalongo Winnie Nanyondo Winnie, the mother of Ali Wasswa, who was on the ill-fated bus that crashed in Kapchorwa district, killing 21 on the spot.
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1:35 PM
Ministers visit hospitalised survivors
Reporting by Donald Kiirya:
Local government minister Balaam Barugahara and labour state minister Simon Mulongo have visited the survivors of Thursday's fatal crash in various hospitals, also comforted the bereaved families.
The ministers said they learned about the crash that killed 20 pupils of King David Junior School through social media. They abruptly left a public meeting they were hosting in Namisindwa district to rush to the hospitals and help parents locate their children Thursday night.
Barugahara and Mulongo first visited Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, where they found nine admitted pupils. They then proceeded to Muyembe Health Centre IV and found 12 pupils, Kaserem Health Centre IV (16 students), and Kapchorwa General Hospital, where they found 61 pupils nursing injuries.
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11:57 AM
A scene of raw emotions
At King David Junior School in Ndejje, Wakiso district, it's a scene of emotions, fervent prayer as well as anger as the grief-stricken community members, including the loved ones of the Thursday's crash victims, struggle to come to terms with that happened.
New Vision's Stuart Yiga has captured the mood:
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11:42 AM
'Hilly and susceptible to crashes'
According to preliminary Police investigations, the ill-fated bus had taken the pupils for an educational tour to Sipi Falls in Kapchorwa district. On their way back, the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road, struck a large stone along the roadside, and overturned.
"The place where the crash happened is hilly and susceptible to crashes," says one observer, who adds that a truck has previously overturned at the same spot in Chekwatit village, leaving over 20 people dead.
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11:37 AM
📝 The guidelines before latest suspension
We now know that the education ministry has suspended school trips with immediate effect. But before Thursday's deadly crash in Kapchorwa, the following were the ministry's guidelines on school tours and trips:
▪️As part of the guidelines, learners' movement for trips and tours will not go beyond 6:00pm and the schools are required to indicate clear stopovers and sleepovers prior to departure from school.
▪️The ministry guidelines have banned learners in nursery school or kindergarten from undertaking school tours or trips.
▪️In addition, children in lower primary school, covering classes from Primary One to Primary three, may undertake school trips or tours, but only under special circumstances, with maximum caution from school management.
▪️The ministry is expected to provide strict controls on study tours and trips to prevent financial exploitation of parents.
▪️However, as part of the general guidelines, the school shall specify the kind of trips or tour acceptable and approved by the Governing Bodies, ensuring that all trips align with the educational objectives of the school and consider the financial implications for learners and their families.
▪️In normal circumstances, the guidelines indicate that the learners' fieldwork supporting curriculum implementation is encouraged to take place in and around the school premises to minimize the possible challenges learners may encounter farther away from school.
▪️The schools are now required to communicate the proposed sites for school visits to parents and other concerned stakeholders on time and that they must be evaluated for educational value and safety.
▪️When organizing a school tour, the school administration shall notify the police of the place of visit, number of learners, mode of travel, and contact information for the teacher in charge and headteacher.
▪️Students should dress decently while on school tours, and should be in school uniforms. Unbecoming behaviors like drinking, smoking, drug abuse, dancing on the road, abusing other road users, etc., shall not be tolerated. There should always be a teacher in the vehicle transporting the learners to ensure maximum discipline.
▪️School rules and regulations shall apply during school tours.
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11:20 AM
Situation at the school
Reporting by Juliet Lukwago:
It is a somber atmosphere at King David School, Ndejje in Wakiso district where grief-stricken parents, guardians, friends and community members have gathered following Thursday's crash that happened several miles away in Kapchorwa, killing 20 pupils of the school.
For many that have come at the school, it is air of uncertainty over the fate of the children who were on the ill-fated bus. Some want to know whether their children are among the dead or are among those that survived.
While some are weeping, others are in each other's arms to console each other in stunned disbelief and overwhelming anxiety.
There is a heavy Police presence at the school to control the numbers.
11:42 AM
'Hilly and susceptible to crashes'
According to preliminary Police investigations, the ill-fated bus had taken the pupils for an educational tour to Sipi Falls in Kapchorwa district. On their way back, the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road, struck a large stone along the roadside, and overturned.
"The place where the crash happened is hilly and susceptible to crashes," says one observer, who adds that a truck has previously overturned at the same spot in Chekwatit village, leaving over 20 people dead.
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11:37 AM
📝 The guidelines before latest suspension
We now know that the education ministry has suspended school trips with immediate effect. But before Thursday's deadly crash in Kapchorwa, the following were the ministry's guidelines on school tours and trips:
▪️As part of the guidelines, learners' movement for trips and tours will not go beyond 6:00pm and the schools are required to indicate clear stopovers and sleepovers prior to departure from school.
▪️The ministry guidelines have banned learners in nursery school or kindergarten from undertaking school tours or trips.
▪️In addition, children in lower primary school, covering classes from Primary One to Primary three, may undertake school trips or tours, but only under special circumstances, with maximum caution from school management.
▪️The ministry is expected to provide strict controls on study tours and trips to prevent financial exploitation of parents.
▪️However, as part of the general guidelines, the school shall specify the kind of trips or tour acceptable and approved by the Governing Bodies, ensuring that all trips align with the educational objectives of the school and consider the financial implications for learners and their families.
▪️In normal circumstances, the guidelines indicate that the learners' fieldwork supporting curriculum implementation is encouraged to take place in and around the school premises to minimize the possible challenges learners may encounter farther away from school.
▪️The schools are now required to communicate the proposed sites for school visits to parents and other concerned stakeholders on time and that they must be evaluated for educational value and safety.
▪️When organizing a school tour, the school administration shall notify the police of the place of visit, number of learners, mode of travel, and contact information for the teacher in charge and headteacher.
▪️Students should dress decently while on school tours, and should be in school uniforms. Unbecoming behaviors like drinking, smoking, drug abuse, dancing on the road, abusing other road users, etc., shall not be tolerated. There should always be a teacher in the vehicle transporting the learners to ensure maximum discipline.
▪️School rules and regulations shall apply during school tours.
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11:20 AM
Situation at the school
Reporting by Juliet Lukwago:
It is a somber atmosphere at King David School, Ndejje in Wakiso district where grief-stricken parents, guardians, friends and community members have gathered following Thursday's crash that happened several miles away in Kapchorwa, killing 20 pupils of the school.
For many that have come at the school, it is air of uncertainty over the fate of the children who were on the ill-fated bus. Some want to know whether their children are among the dead or are among those that survived.
While some are weeping, others are in each other's arms to console each other in stunned disbelief and overwhelming anxiety.
There is a heavy Police presence at the school to control the numbers.
The area MP (Makindye-Ssabagabo Municipality), David Sserukenya, arrived at the school with ambulances and asked some parents to accompany him to Mbale Hospital to transport the victims back to Kampala.
The community leaders and school have set up a dedicated communication desk to manage inquiries from frantic parents, guardians and to convey accurate information in quiet gatherings without overwhelming the learners currently at the school.
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10:48 AM
Education ministry suspends school trips
Reporting by Eddie Ssejjoba:
The Ministry of Education and Sports has suspended, with immediate effect, all school trips and excursions until further notice as a temporary measure to protect the lives of schoolchildren.
The suspension follows the fatal crash in Kapchorwa in which 20 pupils of King David Junior School were killed alongside a male adult on their way back from an educational tour at Sipi Falls on Thursday.
In announcing the directive, the acting education minister, Dr. John Chrysestom Muyingo, regretted the incident.
"As an immediate precautionary measure, we must do something about the safety of our children. All school trips and education excursions are suspended with immediate effect until further notice," he said.
The minister said the suspension would remain in force as the ministry conducts a comprehensive preview of the existing school trips and education excursion guidelines. He added that the decision was taken because the ministry wanted to give guidance to the population and promised that he would soon issue a circular.
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10:30 AM
Dark Friday
Hello everyone. It's a dark Friday in Uganda as the country comes to terms with one of the deadliest road crashes involving schoolchildren after a bus carrying pupils of King David Junior School returning from an educational tour crashed in Kapchorwa district in Uganda's east on Thursday.
Police confirmed 20 pupils and a male adult were killed in the crash, which happened at around 8pm at a spot in Chekwatit village, Kimawa parish in Kawowo sub-county.
Police said the driver of the bus (UA 108BQ) had not yet been identified.
"Several survivors, whose identities are yet to be established, were rushed to Kaserem Health Centre IV, Kapchorwa General Hospital, and Mbale Regional Referral Hospital for medical treatment," Police added in a post on social media platform X.
It has emerged, from preliminary investigations, that the school bus had taken the pupils on an educational tour to Sipi Falls in Kapchorwa. On their way back from the tour, the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road, struck a large stone along the roadside, and overturned.
Other pupils and three male adults sustained injuries. The bodies of the deceased were taken to Kapchorwa Mortuary pending identification and postmortem examinations.
Police said investigations into the exact cause of the crash are ongoing and that further updates would be provided as more information becomes available.
"The Uganda Police Force extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families, the management of King David Junior School, and all those affected by this tragic incident. We also wish the injured a quick and full recovery."