Kalungu West MP, Joseph Gonzaga Sewungu (pictured) says most public schools are not ready for re-opening as most of structures are dilapidated and bushy.
According to Ministry of Education, schools will reopen on January 10, 2022 after two years of closure in an effort to fight COVID-19.
In March 2020, all educational facilities in the country were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After more than 80 weeks of closure, questions loom over the effect of the shutdown on students and teachers.
Sewungu says all schools are dilapidated, most of them have no funds to renovate the existing infrastructures and the government has only indicated when schools will open but it has failed to date release a detailed programme of how schools will reopen.
Sewungu says government would have ascertained how many teachers are willing to go back to the teaching profession since most of them had resorted to other jobs for survival.
Sewungu says the number of children returning back to schools need to also be ascertained for proper planning of re-opening of schools.
He says it’s unfortunate that government has failed to honor her promise of Shs100 million recovery package to assist schools and other institutions of learning as they plan to re-open.
According to the National Planning Authority (NPA), up to 30 percent of students are expected not to return to their school desks in January due to teenage pregnancies.
Parents who are facing economic difficulties due to the pandemic may also decide to invest in the education of their sons rather than that of daughters who can be forced into marriage.
