Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa
17 September 2008
Head teachers of schools that were closed for lacking required standards have accused the Ministry of Education of malice. They said the ministry was unfair to announce their closure in the press, yet they had made efforts to upgrade to the set standards.
According to a survey conducted by Daily Monitor around Kampala on Monday, many head teachers maintain they had met the minimum operational, safety and security standards but it was the ministry officials who had not made a second round of inspection to ascertain the improvements.
"We were ordered to close down the boarding section which we did but we were really shocked to see our school on the list of those closed," charged Mr Ahmed Kanatera, the deputy head teacher Kasubi Church of Uganda Primary School. "Why didn't they visit us again and find out for themselves?"
He said they closed their boarding section which had 40 pupils at the end of second term in August. "That is being unfair. We made the extension on our dormitories and also acquired uniforms for the school cooks as asked. But why did they go ahead to put our school in the papers? They could have written to us formally," said Ms Betty Kobusingye, deputy head teacher Dinadona Preparatory School.
But the Ministry of Education publicist, Mr Aggrey Kibenge, said no school was closed without first notifying the administrators. "That is not true. We issued the closure notice in June for each school and if they continue to operate after the issuance of a the closure notice, they break the law," he said on telephone yesterday.
But Mr Ali Rajab Nsimbe, the head teacher Kasubi Modern Islamic School insisted that his school was not closed though it appeared on the list. Mr Nsimbe urged the government to establish a fund through which poor private schools can acquire grants to improve their structures. "We believe closing our schools won't help. We are partners in development and government must lend us a hand to grow," he said.
Molly and Paul High School acting deputy headteacher Catherine Kayigwa said they had communicated to parents not to bring their children until they resolve their issues with the ministry. "We have told our students to stay home for a week as we sort out these problems," she said.
Last week, the ministry issued a list of over 300 schools that were closed down for failure to secure licenses, employing unqualified teachers and operating in dilapidated structures.
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