The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
The Ministry of Education is finalising plans to introduce nursery classes in public schools starting next year.
Janet Museveni, the Education and Sports minister, made the announcement while closing the education sector review conference recently.
Private schools have been the sole providers of nursery education, which has seen costs skyrocket due to intense competition in the sector. The minister revealed that there were inadequate facilities, personnel, and instructional materials from the private sector.
Critics however said the attendant problems of teacher absenteeism and poor pay that afflict public schools would still be a challenge for nursery schools if not eradicated.
Teachers to receive pay through mobile money
In what is hoped to be a solution to the chronic problem of teacher absenteeism, the ministry of education and sports has devised a plan to pay teachers through the wide reach of mobile money.
The idea is to enable teachers get their pay from wherever they are without having to travel long distances to the nearest bank.
Tony Mukasa Lusambu, the assistant commissioner for primary education, says the intervention is meant to help teachers in deeply remote areas who surrender their ATM cards to friends to help them withdraw money, which he deemed expensive and time consuming.
In more technological interventions, the ministry plans to introduce thumbprint gadgets to check absenteeism. The innovation is meant to record date of attendance and time of arrival.
