Parents given 10 days to get term 2 fees

Under the new school calendar issued by the Ministry of Education, parents have been given just 10 days within which to pick kids from school and look for term 2 fees.

Education Minister Janet Museveni, who is also the first lady, said this in an address to the nation on Saturday April 4, 2020,  that in case the government lifts the current quarantine, schools will resume on April 27, 2020.

The government hastily closed schools on March 20, 2020 as one of the measures that were adopted to reduce social gatherings in the wake of the COVID-19 global outbreak. Uganda had not yet recorded a single case of infection.

President Museveni recently said his decision had proved critical in preventing possible infections in crowded places like schools.

In his most recent address to the nation, President Museveni expressed happiness that the battle against the virus was being won, shown by the fact that there were no signs of community spread. Almost all the 52 cases that have been identified with COVID-19 have either a travel history abroad or are closely linked to those who had travelled abroad and were in quarantine centres.

Under this atmosphere of hope, it appears, the Ministry of Education is preparing the education sector to resume, hence Janet’s address.

Minister Janet Museveni now says that schools will resume on April 27 for one and a half months to complete term one which is scheduled to last till June 12, 2020.

But parents will hardly have time to look for fees before term two commences on June 22, a break of just ten days.

The holiday of term two will also have a very short break of 16 days; Between September 05 and 21 before term 3 resume on September 22.

With millions of Ugandans adversely affected by the COVID-19 lock-down measures that closed their businesses, most parents may find the revised  schools calendar rather cruel.

Given the fact that parents in Uganda know they have to meet almost all the costs of their  children’s  education, the coming months are likely to be a harsh reminder of their parental obligations.