Uganda: Private schools surrender students due to lack of funds to meet SOPs

Due to a lack of funds to meet the set standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the government of Uganda to control the spread of COVID-19, some private school administrators have started surrendering their students to public schools, according to a news report by Daily Monitor.

Many of the administrators in the nation have claimed they run their institutions using money collected from school fees and since the schools have been closed since March, they can notably cater to the candidates.

President Yoweri Museveni had given the green light to the reopening of schools last month, for candidate classes and finalists in tertiary institutions, seven months since their closure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministries of Health and Education have stated that heads of various educational institutions have been working hard to put in place facilities.

In Nakaseke District, a section of private school owners with less than 15 candidates have already allowed the children to join public schools in their vicinity, citing their inability to reopen this Thursday because of financial constraints.

According to John Walusimbi Ssebaggala, the headteacher of Our Lady Consolata Primary School in Nakaseke District, parents have already been informed about the changes.