Education Gets Sh1.5b Boost

The Ministry of Education and Sports has procured motorcycles and vehicles worth sh1.5b to improve the efficiency of districts and core Primary Teacher Colleges (PTCs) in implementing and monitoring education reform programmes.John Eremu reports that the 304 motorcycles and the four double cabin pick-up trucks were on Thursday handed over to district officials at Nile Hotel gardens by state minister for primary education, Geraldine Bitamazire.The commissioner for education planning, Florence Malinga, said the equipment procured with funding mainly from the Dutch Government and the European Union will be distributed to core PTCs and centre coordinating tutors for outreach programmes under the Teacher Development and Management Systems.Malinga who represented the permanent secretary said county and district inspectors of schools and assistant engineers will get motorcycles.She said the vehicles were given to Masindi, Lira, Kumi and Rakai, the four districts were decentralised medium term budgetary framework is piloted.In a speech read by Malinga, Lubanga said decentralisation of the management and implementation of key educational programmes had resulted into serious gaps in monitoring, and evaluating the efficiency of programmes at the district level.“With the motorcycles and vehicles, we now expect this gap to be narrowed and consequently the implementation is expected to improve,” Lubanga said.Bitamazire hailed the donors but cautioned the district officials against the misuse of the motorcycles and vehicles.Ends