Early childhood development association petitions speaker over fate of nursery schools

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  The Early Childhood Development Association of Uganda has petitioned the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, seeking her intervention to request the government to revise a decision to keep pre-primary schools closed indefinitely.

Early this month the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni said that there will be no more Nursery / Kindergarten school until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

She explained that this particular age bracket doesn’t wear face masks and are at high risk of contracting respiratory infections like coronavirus.

However last week, Patrick Muinda, the Assistant Commissioner of Information Technology and Communication said that nursery schools will reopen, but only when teachers have been vaccinated against the virus. 

The Early Childhood Development Association led by president Manuela Mulondo met Kadaga on Tuesday in a bid to request her to pressure the government to reconsider the decision. 

Mulondo told the speaker that the reasons that the government fronted to keep early childhood development centers closed were not based on facts.

She argued that when the government said that the pre-primary schools would create a lot of interaction between schools and parents this was a false fear since evidence shows that children and schools are not key drivers of the epidemic.

Mulondo also stated that the argument by the government that close supervision of learners by teachers would increase the epidemic was also debunked by the WHO in its October 21st 2020 technical update on COVID-19 transmission in schools which concluded that even in countries where schools remained open most infections in children were acquired at home, besides children less than 10 years old were less susceptible to infections.

Lucy Nanyanzi from the Kampala Kindergarten Association told the speaker that there was inequality since international schools at the same level of learning were allowed to open in September last year.

Rebecca Namirimu the representative of parents on the association argued that many working parents are suffering due to the absence of day-care centers. She says the working mothers could face the brunt of the government’s decision to keep pre-primary schools closed.

Estella Kabagaya the proprietor of daycare in Wandegeya Market says most women have been forced back home since they can no longer earn a living in the market since the market environment is dangerous for their children. She says most of these women are low-income earners and closing the early childhood development centers is dis-empowering the women. 

Kadaga noted that the petition presents valid reasons and will be brought to the floor of Parliament. 

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