Deadline for school inspection extended

EDUCATION|SCHOOLS|INSPECTION

KAMPALA - The education ministry has extended the deadline for inspection of schools in the country to Saturday, authorities have revealed.

Earlier, the education ministry was required to have finalised the exercise before October 15, the date set for reopening of academic institutions.

The extension, according to the Directorate of Education Standards (DES), will enable district local governments which are still conducting an inspection, to finalise and publish the report.

The development was revealed by Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, the director of education standards at the ministry.

In an interview with the New Vision yesterday, Turyagyenda said: "There are schools which have not been inspected, some were inspected but not issued with certificates of compliance.

There, we have tasked the local governments to finalize by Saturday." In the extended timelines, she said, the districts local governments are required to routinely publish or read out the status of each school in a given district.

Turyagenda also appealed to the parents to ask for a certificate of compliance from each school before their children could report.

In addition, the certificate of compliance will inform the parents to pay school fees.

"We urge our parents to ask for these certificates. Wait to pay for school fees until the school is granted permission. Whether the school is government-aided or private, they must have a certificate," she said.

What has caused the delay? 

Benson Kule Baritazale, the commissioner secondary education standards, who is the countrywide co-ordinator of school inspection, attributed the delay in concluding inspection to laxity by the district local governments.

For instance, he said, the inspection was meant to start on October 5, 2020, however, most districts started a week later.

"We had allocated enough time. Our target was for each school to know their status by the opening date. This has not been possible, and it explains why we have extended to Saturday," he said.

The extension, he said, followed a crisis meeting which was held on Wednesday.

He warned that there will be no more time allocated for districts to conclude the exercise, adding: "Our children must be in class on Monday. That is the target. Districts should not have excuses."