Teachers should encamp at schools, orders president Museveni

Oct 07, 2020

The teachers are not yet convinced that adequate preparations have been made to enable re-opening of schools.

EDUCATION   HEALTH   VIRUS

Ahead of the re-opening of education institutions for candidates and finalists, President Yoweri Museveni has ordered that teachers should encamp near schools, describing the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as "war" and not a luxury.

"For instance, I have been here under quarantine for seven months. All these soldiers are under quarantine. They do not go home. So, if for some reason, the teachers who are not so many in the schools can look for a way, say: can you camp near schools because some of the school buildings are not being used now? If they fear to go home and come back; why can't they use these classrooms and sleep near schools and teach? This is a war. We are in a war," Museveni said.

This was during the commemoration of the World Teachers' Day at State House, Entebbe, under the theme, Teachers' Leading In Crisis, Re-imagining the Future.

"We are in a war where one million people in the world have died. This is a war. We are not here for luxury. It is a war of survival," he added, referring to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers' demands

The President was yesterday responding to queries raised by the leadership of teachers ahead of the re-opening of schools.

In his address to the nation on September 20, Museveni said schools would re-open for the 1.2 million out of the 15 million learners, in candidate classes and finalists in tertiary institutions and universities on October 15.

Some of the teachers who attended the national World Teachers' Day celebrations at State House Entebbe yesterday


Since then, the Government has drafted guidelines for the re-opening of education institutions and implementation of the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Speaking at the event on Tuesday, the general secretary of the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), Filbert Baguma, asked about how teachers and day schooling students, majority of whom do not own private vehicles, will be able to travel to schools to teach, in the face of the risk-related challenges of public transport.

UNATU officials also raised concerns on capitation grant release, safety of teachers and students at school, preparedness on SOPs and what will happen if students in particular schools test for COVID-19.

The delayed release of the sh22b grant that the Government promised the over 300,000 teachers working with private schools and the sh9.3b for saving schemes that has been pending since 2016 are the other demands that teachers raised.

Using the acronym ‘COVID', Baguma said teachers urgently want capitalisation of their saving schemes at district level, operationalisation of their social dialogue framework by implementing the national teachers' policy, provision of vehicles to enhance sensitisation or monitoring of schools and the designation of October 5 as a national public holiday in honour of teachers.

More queries

"The teachers are not yet convinced that adequate preparations have been made to enable re-opening of schools. For instance, what safety measures are in place to safeguard teachers? Is it possible to teach all day with a mask on? If a COVID-19 case is identified, does that mean that the whole school should go into quarantine or is closed? Will the Government provide any funding for feeding learners? Training of teachers and heads of schools on COVID-19 is also important," Baguma said.

In his reply, Museveni said teachers and all stakeholders must take the COVID-19 issue seriously by observing the guidelines.

The President said if 2,000 years ago lepers could observe social distancing, as the Bible notes, why would people in 2020 find it problematic to observe social distancing rules amidst a life-threatening pandemic.

"How can we now waste time talking about social distancing? This is total lack of seriousness. In nine months, I have not heard that a child has died from the coronavirus. We now think it is safe to open only for the candidates because we do not want them to miss a year,"

Museveni said, noting that in rural areas, there is no much COVID-19-related trouble. The problem, he added, is in urban areas and public transport.

Museveni also ordered the education ministry to ensure that each school has a health professional to monitor students. The two vehicles he promised UNATU to enhance their monitoring, he said, will be delivered on Monday next week.

Nine million radios

The President also rooted for distance learning for the other learners who are not finalists.

President Museveni
President Museveni


Museveni said sh320b has been secured to buy nine million radio sets to enhance long distance learning.

"With long-distance learning, you are able to share a good teacher. If there is a teacher who teaches well, he or she can now reach many students using radio and television," he said, asking UNATU leaders what the problem with this approach is.

"Technology such as the Internet, radio and TV cannot replace teachers. Distance learning is highly problematic and daily interactions at school are fundamental for learning. The world has taken teachers for granted for far too long," UNATU officials said.

However, Museveni said the current situation is akin to a house that caught fire, and there is need to manage the crisis.

In their statement, UNATU officials said COVID-19 has taught them that not everyone can be a teacher and that a school without teachers is merely a building.

"As Uganda, we cannot afford to ignore the teaching profession. The time is now for the Government to not only address the teachers' concerns but also work with UNATU to devise strategies of making the profession more attractive, motivate and retain quality teachers in the profession and encourage the youth, who are the future, to take on the profession," the statement read.

Teachers called for tree planting, saying the fight against climate change is what should be emphasised as people celebrate their role in society.

On the issue of raising salaries for teachers, Museveni said the magic bullet is in the unified salaries board, adding that the issue is now more on budgeting and prioritisation as opposed to availability of resources or money.

In 1986, the country, he said, was collecting sh5b in taxes, but the economy has grown over time, with revenue collections currently at over sh21 trillion. 

Balancing the priorities from security, infrastructure, electricity and salary increment for teachers, scientists and health workers, among others, the President said, is what needs to be looked at.

Museveni, however, called on teachers to enhance transformational teaching that changes society rather than concentrating on theory, which has made Uganda and Africa a consumer of products from abroad.

Giving an example of former vice-chancellor of Makerere University Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, Museveni rooted for innovation, noting that he at once tasked Baryamureeba with manufacturing a computer, but he has never made one to date.

Minister tips teachers

The commemoration of the World Teachers' Day was also attended by the First Lady and education minister, Janet Museveni; the state minister for higher education, Dr John Muyingo; state minister for primary education, Rosemary Seninde, the permanent secretary of the education ministry, Alex Kakooza; Ambassador of Belgium to Uganda Rudi Vestraeten, who heads the education development partners group as well as 50 selected teachers, who represented their colleagues.

First Lady and education minister, Janet Museveni


In her speech, the education minister said the challenge of COVID-19 demands that there should be a paradigm shift from the normal operations to innovative ways of dealing with the situation as schools re-open.

For private universities, she said, they should work out modalities for building endowment funds to enhance their resolve against financial shocks.

In the event of COVID-19 cases at schools, Mrs Museveni said: "When one gets the virus, it is the work of the health practitioners. We suggested from the education ministry that every school must have an arrangement with a health facility near them so that if there is any need, they know what to do quickly without fumbling."

Ensuring that learners return to school, she added, is a shared responsibility for all stakeholders.

"When we realised that COVID-19 was here and it is a dangerous pandemic, we closed schools so that parents take over the care of the children. Now, we think that at least the candidate classes should go back to school. So, we have informed the parents, and it is now their responsibility to take the children back to school. So, all of us must play our roles," she said. Mrs. Museveni called on teachers to recognise that the country cannot remain under the situation of no schooling forever.

"But with God's help, we will find ways of living through it and moving on. That is the importance of this Teachers' Day theme, which is, Teachers leading in crisis: re-imagining the future. That is your theme. 

"You determined that, and so, we are hoping that we are learning together and we are really going to manage and go forward. We must all now put on the armour of God and face the situation with new inspiration and new determination and new ways of doing things," she said.

The education minister also commended teachers for their resilience exhibited during the challenges posed by COVID-19, especially those working in private schools who were not receiving salaries.

"I want to assure you that the Government recognises your central role in education and remains committed to working with you," she said.

Mrs Museveni said she is aware that the sh22b grant from the Government to private teachers has not been accessed yet, but efforts are underway to ensure that the teachers get the bail out, including access to Uganda Development Bank loans.

Kakooza said a meeting will on Thursday be chaired by Sseninde with all stakeholders to ensure that the sh22b is rolled out to teachers.

The implementation of the national teachers' policy, Kakooza added, is also on course, with principles to guide the policy now before Cabinet.

He also told teachers that the sh32.6b capitation grant has been released by the finance ministry to enable the re-opening of schools for finalists.

At the ceremony, scientists, including the head of the COVID-19 scientific team, Dr Misaki Wayengera, cautioned teachers, students and headteachers to strictly observe the guidelines.

He urged them not to remain closed indoors and crowding, observing that they must practise hand hygiene and physical distancing if the virus is to be tamed.

Wayengera is a clinical geneticist, immunologist, virologist and Makerere University researcher.

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