Govt recalls all certificates for private secondary schools

EDUCATION|

The Ministry of Education and Sports has recalled all registration certificates for private secondary schools in the country.

According to the ministry, each school will get a new registration certificate with computerised security protocols that cannot be manipulated.

The new certificates will also include the location of each school, owners, and the number of classes enrolled.

"As part of this process, the ministry is recalling the old registration certificates and issuing new certificates with enhanced security features," a notice sent to all private secondary schools, by the education ministry permanent secretary, Alex Kakooza, said.

Kakooza said the move is part of the processes to streamline licensing and registration of private secondary schools.

"Ministry of Education and Sports is in the process of streamlining licensing and registration of private secondary schools in line with Section 35 of the Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary Education Act, 2008," the letter reads.

Starting this financial year (2020/2021), the letter read, the ministry has planned to recall old certificates of private secondary schools in a phased manner, starting with Kampala and the wider central region, with effect from September, 2020.

According to the ministry, a team of officers will visit each sub-county or division in the country on scheduled dates, to receive and validate all documents relating to the registration of each private secondary school in the area.

Places to visit first

According to the education ministry plan, phase one of issuing the new certificates will start in the five divisions of Kampala, between October 5 and 8, this year.

Thereafter, the ministry will visit the greater Masaka districts — Kalungu, Bukomansimbi, Lwengo, and Sembabule, between October 13 and 15.

"The programme will be communicated through the respective district/municipal education officers," Kakooza said in the letter.

For the smooth running of this exercise, the ministry said the proprietors need to prepare a record of documents relating to the registration of the school.

Each school is required to present original documents of the licence and registration certificate, land ownership and any other document relating to school ownership.

The guidelines

Under the new guidelines, schools with under-performing branches will be regulated or closed.

Instead, proprietors of such schools will be required to give different names to each of the schools, to differentiate them.

The new guidelines on licences for establishment, licensing, registering, and bar schools from changing locations.

In this case, once a private school or institution changes even a village, they are required to undergo fresh registration at the education ministry.

On registration, all private schools and certificate-awarding institutions will be required to renew their registration every after five years.

Under the current arrangement, once registered, private schools are allowed to operate for life.

However, this is set to change once new guidelines are gazetted. Mulindwa said the education ministry will not renew certificates of schools that are below standards.

The new certificates will also enable the ministry to determine the number of private schools in the country.

Private schools react

Hasadu Kirabira, the officer in charge of research at Uganda  National Association of Private  Schools and Institutions, said the new certification will drive operations of private schools high.

He said for every school to renew a certificate, they will be required to reinvest as per the ministry demands and that just a few schools will be able to adhere.

"If I opened a school with 300 students, but in five years the number grows to 800 students, the new certifi cation requires me to build more structures to cater for the additional 500.  This cannot be done at once."

Instead, he said, the ministry should empower the Directorate of Education Standards to inspect schools regularly.

Why the new certificates?

Hajji Ismail Mulindwa, the director of basic education at the education ministry, who also oversees private schools and institutions, said the new certificates are part of the new guidelines on the establishment of schools and certificate-awarding institutions in the country.

The guidelines were developed in 2012 and that the ministry had started on its implementation.

"A decision was taken by the ministry top management to have new certificates. We had issues with the current certificates and we are trying to rectify them," he said.

The education ministry permanent secretary, Alex Kakooza, said with the current certificates, the ministry is unable to tell the location of a school or its owners.

In addition, he said, some schools have been using manipulated certificates and that many people would open several schools using one certificate.

"The new certificate does not allow this. If you move a school, you must have a new certificate," he said.

He said, each school will be allocated one certificate and that this will affect schools with different campuses.

"If you have a secondary school in Nansana and another in Kireka (both in Wakiso district), you must secure a registration certificate for each," he said.