'Toddlers should stay out of boarding schools'

By Joyce Namutebi                                                                        

Members of Parliament have tasked the ministry of education and sports to come up with guidelines barring parents from taking very young children to boarding schools.

Concerns were raised in Parliament Tuesday by members led by Masaka district woman MP, Freda Kase Mubanda who demanded that the ministry immediately institutes measures to promote safety and security of children at school.        

The concerns follow an incident last week where five pupils of Leos Junior Academy at Nyendo Masaka municipality perished in a fire that gutted their dormitories.

The woman MP proposed measures including ample walking space in-between beds, emergence exits, fire extinguishers and installing smoke detectors in ceilings.            

Masaka Municipality MP, Mathias Mpuuga said parents were taking toddlers to boarding schools, something that is unacceptable. The ministry, he said, should come up with guidelines stating as to which age group goes to a boarding school. 

Entebbe Municipality MP, Mohamed Kawuma urged the ministry to develop a comprehensive policy encompassing daycare centres.             

Serere MP, Alice Alaso revealed that besides the issue of taking very young children to school, there are schools where children never go home for holidays. She wanted to know what the ministry was doing about it.              

State minister for sports, Charles Bakabulindi promised to provide a comprehensive report on school fires Thursday next week.