Private schools demand psychosocial support for teachers

Teachers have been suffering from anxiety about the future and economic uncertainty

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Leaders of private schools have asked the Ministry of Education and Sports to offer psychosocial support to teachers.

Since March 2020 when the government closed all educational institutions following the outbreak of Covid-19, teachers have silently been going through several psychosocial challenges ranging from anxiety about the future and economic uncertainty. There have been reports of teachers in different parts of the country who have committed suicide.

On Monday, a section of leaders of different teachers associations presented proposals to the Ministry of Education that need to be addressed ahead of the reopening of schools next year.

Now as the government is planning to reopen all schools by January 2022, the ministry of education has decided to engage the private education institutions to receive their proposals and see how they can support them to safely reopen.

Patrick Kaboyo, the General Secretary of the Federation of Non-State Education Institution-FENEI, says that teachers are currently going through a lot, some of them are getting mentally ill, and others are depressed. He says that to some, teaching was the only source of income.

According to Kaboyo, the other proposals tabled include financial support to private schools. He explains that 1.5 Billion Shillings is required for the 350,000 private schools for safe reopening. He adds that each private school needs 100 Million Shillings.

“Apart from the education recovery loan, we also agreed on the psychosocial support for both the teachers and learners on top of prioritizing vaccination. And what we want to see after all these efforts is the full reopening instead of partial,” explains Kaboyo.

Asadu Kirabira, the Chairperson of National Private School owners says that he is optimistic that the government will heed to their proposals.

Kirabira also said that many private schools require funds to renovate the facilities before the schools are reopened.

Last week, the Education Ministry instructed District Education Officers to assess the state of public schools in their localities for rehabilitation before the reopening dates.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Ketty Lamaro, says that the proposals will be presented to the different departments in the ministry.

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