Ministry of Education clarifies on school opening, rubbishes social media reports

Posted on 22/05/2020

Education ministry clarifies on schools opening

The Education ministry has disowned a social media statement on schools reopening.

The communication on schools opening purportedly attributed to the Chairperson of the COVID 19 Taskforce has been making rounds on social media since Thursday May 21.

The writer of the fake communication states that the Chairperson of the COVID 19 Taskforce has released a “Recommendation on the reopening of Education Institutions due to the COVID-19 crisis”.

But Mr Patrick Muinda, the Education ministry spokesman commenting on term opening developments said the information communicated is false, misleading and must therefore be dismissed and ignored.

The education ministry clarifies on schools opening as follow.

1. The information communicated is false, misleading and must therefore be dismissed and ignored.

2. The Ministry of Education and Sports does not issue Circulars and Policy guidelines through Social Media as a formal channel for Policy Communication.

Education Minister Janet Museveni

The formal communication with regard to the guidelines for re-opening schools will therefore be communicated to the Public as soon as the final consultative process ends.

There will be a Press Conference to clarify issues that may require clarification. The conference will be held on the same day the guidelines for reopening schools will be issued. The time and venue will be communicated.

This therefore is to reassure all our learners, the public, parents and all other stakeholders that the Ministry Ministry will disseminate the guidelines for the schools reopening and Institutions as soon as consultations over the same are concluded very soon.

Meanwhile,

President Museveni has directed the Ministry of Education to prepare a plan by June 4 to give guidance on how candidate classes/finalists will resume studies.

He said the Education Ministry together with Ministry of Transport also guide on transport for learners in border districts.

“When it comes to the students who will have to come back and join the other finalists, if they can walk to the schools we don’t have a problem. For the rest, Ministry of Education, will have to work out a plan,” he said.