The Minister of Health, Jane Aceng has defended Government’s decision to ban visitation of students in boarding schools, saying the decision was taken to protect students after reports of outbreak of deadly flue and covid within education institutions.
The Minister’s remarks were in response to a concern made by Bugiri District Woman Member of Parliament Agnes Taaka who said that a number of parents have approached her complaining that despite Government opening up the economy fully, parents have been denied right to visit their students yet other activities are going on normally.
According to Taaka, “There are children who go back home daily and some schools have both day and boarding sections.”
“But the Ministry has continued to guide that there should be no visitations at schools yet the responsibility to groom children doesn’t only lies with parents but teachers,” Taaka said.
Minister Aceng responded revealing that although the national covid positivity rate is at 0.4%, there is a lot flue within the schools right which prompted the Ministry to pick samples from the students so as to make an informed decision on whether schools can open.
She said, “We are taking samples from schools to be 100% sure before we take a decision, we have sampled many schools and in one or two we have got covid, the rest we have flue. Before we can present a report to ministry of education and to say it is safe. The decision was taken in the best interest of students, we want to keep schools open.”
However, Patrick Nsamba (Kassanda North) protested the continued ban on school visitations saying most of the teachers and support staff aren’t housed in schools and therefore interacting with these students, so the claim that the visitations are made to minimize interactions doesn’t hold ground.
Solomon Silwany (Bukhooli Central) questioned the logic behind the decision arguing that keeping children to keep them safer is a myth because teachers and some students are coming from home.
“What is the logic of saying these people aren’t mixing yet this mixing is already taking place? Wouldn’t it be good that since we have opened up and interactions are already going on, let us allow parents to go to schools and provide career guidance to support the students? Asked Silwany.
Minister Aceng asked for one week to analyse the samples and issue Ministry of Education and Sports on whether to allow visitations or not.
She said that when Government called out for vaccine, teachers responded and today over 85% teachers and non teaching staff are vaccinated and majority are boosted because of the vaccine mandate.
“I hear the members and I know the feelings of the parents. That is why it is extremely important that we get to the bottom of this issue before we just open and I clearly indicated that samples are being taken from multiple schools, I kindly request the members to be a little patient, within one week when we have analysed the data, we shall inform the Ministry of Education, said Aceng.
