Alliance for National Transformation party (ANT) national coordinator Alice Alaso has urged the government to re-open schools and places of worship as soon as possible.
Alaso said that learning especially for the younger student groups, has an age factor and the continued closure of education systems could affect a whole generation of these students.
Alaso made these remarks in a press conference held at the ANT party headquarters on Monday.
“This proposal is urgent and comes in good faith, we urge government to call for position papers from experts to help in the reopening of schools if they have failed, open up learning institutions,” Alaso said.
President Museveni in his latest address on Covid-19 last month pegged school re-opening on vaccination of a ‘substantial population of school going children’ between the age of 12-18.
Alaso, in her address said that this was ill advised because no one knows when such a substantial number of children will be vaccinated.
“That proposal farfetched and diversionary, If medical workers have not been fully vaccinated up to now, how can anyone imagine that our children will get the vaccine in time?” Alaso asked.
Alaso proposed that students olin candidate classes for example should be allowed to return go school this month as government increases testing availability and accessibility.
Alaso’s calls to reopen education institutions align with calls from opposition strongman Dr. Kizza Besigye who said last week that the closure of schools is ‘catastrophic.’
President Museveni announced the closure of all educational institutions on June 18, 2021 for a period of 42 days that ended on July 30, 2021.
In his follow up address, the president said that schools are ‘risky’ areas in the fight against COVID-19 since they converge many people and said they will remain locked until the country vaccinates a good number of children.
According to the Ministry of Health data, only about 1.1 million people have so far been vaccinated against Covid-19.
With the limited availability of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country, it remains unknown when a substantial part of the Ugandan population will be reopened for schools to resume, as per the President’s announcement.
