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Uganda: Ban Nursery Boarding Schools - NGO
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New Vision (Kampala)
21 April 2008
Posted to the web 22 April 2008
Flavia Nakagwa
Kampala
CHILD activists have asked the ministry of education to ban nursery boarding schools. Following the death of 20 children at Budo Junior School last week, members of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network said they were holding the education ministry accountable for failure to ensure children's safety in schools.
The network's national programme coordinator, Stella Ayo Odongo, said: "People have turned their houses into schools. This is improper. Another school, Grace Day Care and Boarding Primary School, caught fire due to poor planning. We cannot just sit and do nothing."
In a study done by the charity in 2003, the group found 9,000 nursery boarding schools countrywide.
Speaking to journalists yesterday at its headquarters in Kamwokya, Odongo said the group would petition the Speaker of Parliament over the children's safety in schools.
The organisation supervises charities engaged in child advocacy. Odongo added that the ministry failed to ensure quality education.
"The education standards agency should proactively inspect institutions and penalise those that do not adhere to guidelines and policies.
"The Budo incident was just one of a myriad of similar occurrences in boarding schools in the country. Having about 33 school fires in four years is a threat to our children."
Schools, she added, had to maintain minimum standards of constructing dormitories and classrooms, with adequate ventilation.
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They also ought to admit a manageable number of pupils in relation to the facilities available.
The advocacy officer, Faith Nassozi, said the children who survived the Budo fire ought to see counsellors.
"Through the Uganda Counsellors Association, we shall offer free psychosocial support to the survivors," Nassozi added.
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