The education ministry has revealed that schools’ reopening within the Kampala metropolitan area, including Mpigi district, will take at most a week.

Kampala metropolitan area covers the districts of Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono.

However, the ministry says, the process will start on Monday, January 10, 2022 as opposed to Friday, January 7, 2022 that had been proposed by the respective district local governments. Instead, schools will reopen in a phased, but staggered manner starting on January 10 and ending on January 12, 2022, for the four districts.

However, the ministry says schools which had already communicated to parents a staggered reporting plan that goes beyond January 13, 2022 may retain the plan. The development is contained in a statement issued by the education ministry regarding the phased and staggered reporting of learners to schools within Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono as well as Mpigi districts.

The statement was released by Ketty Lamaro, the education ministry’s permanent secretary. Lamaro said all learners in day schools shall report for classes on Monday January 10, 2022. In addition, the revised calendar indicates that all learners in boarding schools within the affected districts, shall follow a staggered reporting plan starting on Monday January 10, 2022.

The ministry also warned that no boarding students in the concerned districts shall report for school earlier than Monday January 10, 2022, which is the official date for the reopening of schools. “Students in international schools whether offering day or boarding services shall also comply with the reopening that is not any earlier than Monday January 10, 2022,” Lamaro said in a statement.

The ministry also said it is the responsibility of the parents and guardians to ensure that the learners are provided with a face mask to wear when travelling to school or while using public transport. “We appeal to all concerned boarding schools in Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and Mpigi districts to adhere to the areaspecific reopening plan,” the permanent scretary said. Dr Denis Mugimba, the ministry spokesperson, said the special arrangement for the affected districts was the result of the congestion witnessed during the second school lockdown. “We may recall that during the second lockdown, there were many learners that crowded within taxi and bus parks.

We do not want to have a similar scenario once schools reopen because it compromises the fight against the spread of COVID-19,” the ministry spokesperson said.

He added: “It is against this background that the First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, guided that schools within the four districts reopen in a staggered manner.”

Subsequently, Last month, the ministry directed the four districts of Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono as well as Mpigi to develop and share their reopening and closing plan by Friday, December 31, 2021.

“Therefore, we are asking that KCCA and the chief administrative officers of Mpigi, Wakiso and Mukono work together to ensure that there is co-ordinated and staggered reopening and closing of their boarding education institutions to minimise the clogging of the road traffic system around the Kampala metropolitan area,” Mrs Museveni said in a statement read by Mugimba.

Mrs Museveni defended the move saying: “Most of you witnessed the crowding that unfolded in the bus and taxi parks following the closure of schools in June 2021.” Adding that: “This problem was mostly around Kampala and its metropolitan area districts of Mpigi, Wakiso and Mukono.

Such crowding is not only a health risk during this time of COVID-19, but also a security risk.” This was announced at the closing ceremony of the two-day Annual Education and Sports Sector Review workshop held in December at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala.

The sector review was organised under the theme Education Recovery and Resilience for Sustainable Learning Outcomes.

DISTRICTS’ REOPENING

According to the ministry, boarding students in Mpigi and Wakiso districts will open on January 10, but for A‘level students and boarding pupils in lower primary school. On the other hand, boarding students in O’level as well as boarding pupils of P5, P6 and P7, within the two districts, will report to school on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

For boarding students in Kampala and Mukono districts, they will report on Tuesday January 11, 2022 for A’level students, and boarding pupils in lower primary. On Thursday, January 13, 2022 O’level students and boarding pupils in P5, P6 and P7 within Kampala and Mukono, will report to school.