Gov resolves to provide textbooks to Pvt schools to promote O'level curriculum in Uganda

"These books will be labeled as Government of Uganda Books and should not in any way end in the Bookshops. Our inspectors will be tasked to always check if these books are still in those school libraries and are being used".

To promote the new O'level curriculum in the education system in Uganda, the government has decided to give a big share of 3.5 million printed textbooks to private schools, according to a report by NewVision.

The government of Uganda has resolved to provide 3.4 million books to 1,860 private schools as they outnumber government schools (1,266), the report said. The books will be sent to all the secondary schools with the new academic O'level curriculum starting from next year in the country.

While explaining the move, John Muyingo, the state minister for higher education said that the move is been taken, "to ensure that all children get to benefit from the new curriculum". "We know that some private schools will not be able to access these books if we leave to the schools to purchase them," he added.

He further explained, "I know of private schools which buy books and they end becoming the property of the school. They ask parents to bring textbooks, which is unfortunate. Schools should be stocked with all these scholastic materials before they begin admitting students. But to avoid all these situations, we have resolved to use the opportunity of the new curriculum, to ensure that every child in this country, has access to textbooks from the Government of Uganda," he explained.

Talking about the books he said, "These books will be labeled as Government of Uganda Books and should not in any way end in the Bookshops. Our inspectors will be tasked to always check if these books are still in those school libraries and are being used".