By Spy Uganda
Entebbe: Ever since President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni announced closure of schools in March 2020, students have been on knees praying days and nights for the president’s directive to re-open schools over fear to lose their academic year.
As we report this, the students prayers might be answered soon after the Ministry of Education and Sports in a joint effort with the Health Ministry yesterday submitted a final readiness report to the President, full of proposed guidelines meant to curb COVID-19 virus if schools are re-opened.
This was confirmed by the State Minister for Higher Education, Dr Chrysostom Muyingo who said as a Ministry, their big part they could play was to oversee and foretell how schools can be reopened without transmitting the virus, which they did and compiled a report that they submitted to the President as they wait for his decision.
“We are waiting for the President. He is the one who announced the closure. We have provided him all the information and is now waiting for the verification from the Ministry of Health. As long as he gets all the information, he will tell us the next step to take,” Minister Muyingo said.
It should be remembered that in his previous COVID-19 addresses, President Museveni assured that if schools are to be reopened, it won’t go beyond August before government making a final decision, therefore, Ministry’s report brings about the ‘big decision’ the president is going to make as far as reopening of schools is concerned.
Notably, during his recent interview with the national broadcaster, UBC, Museveni disclosed that the government is looking at the possibility of allowing final year students pursuing medical studies to sit for their last exams in a bid to get interns that can help in the fight against COVID-19.
According to Museveni, the medical students are not so many and arrangements can be made to see that they do their exams while observing social distancing.
“The schools, we are looking at the medical finalists because we need them. When they finish their graduate studies they become interns, they are the ones who run hospitals. So they can’t miss their exam, if they miss their exam, we also miss interns.” Museveni said.
“So the medical students are not many, they can sit while social distancing and they can do their exams. So we shall continue seeing what can be done safely, if it can be done we do it. “Museveni added.
