RDCs ordered to close unlicensed schools 

The Office of the President has ordered Residential District Commissioners (RDCs) to enforce closure of unlicensed schools.

"The purpose of this letter therefore, is to ask all RDCs to convene District security meetings to come with joint strategies to ensure that no school is allowed to operate without meeting the minimum standards stated in the Standard Operating Procedures," a statement signed by Deborah Katuramu, secretary Office of the President said.

According to a February 15, 2018 dated letter, all illegal schools without license should be closed immediately so that leaders can find alternative schools as soon as possible.

Education and sports minister, Janet Museveni, last week reiterated the ministry's position on schools that operate outside the legal framework.

At the beginning of this month, state minister for primary education, Rosemary Sseninde, warned that any school without an operational license, would not be allowed to open for first term.

"I want to state it categorically clear that such schools will not be allowed to open. The affected schools include Bridge International schools," Sseninde said. 

The Ministry of Education last year, sanctioned a crackdown on at least 1,308 private schools across the country that were found by the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) with no qualified teachers, makeshift structures, licenses and pit latrines  and failure to teach pupils according to the curriculum approved by the National Curriculum Development Centre, among other things.

The minister told New Vision in a phone interview on Tuesday that: "We alerted Ugandans when we issued a statement during 2017 second term on unlicensed schools and Bridge Schools inclusive. We do not want Ugandans to say they were not told."

The minister urged parents to probe the legal status of the schools they take their children to. "These schools should desist from operating without valid authority from the ministry until they meet the required standards," she added.

Sseninde said although the Education Act allows new schools to open as the registration and process of acquiring an operational license is ongoing, some schools ignore to formalize their operation with the Ministry of Education.