While opening Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting, Speaker Among cited the death of a student at a school in Mukono as a stark example of negligence in learning institutions.
The pupil reportedly drowned after slipping into a swimming pool during a session that lacked professional supervision.
Among warned that unless school administrators prioritize student safety by engaging qualified personnel in co-curricular programs, especially high-risk activities like swimming, many parents could lose confidence in the education system and withdraw their children.
“School heads must take full responsibility for the safety of learners. These tragic incidents are preventable if schools stop cutting corners,” Among said.
“If this is not urgently addressed, we shall see more closures and declining enrolments due to fear among parents.”
Terego District Woman MP Rose Obigah, supported the Speaker’s sentiments, suggesting that schools should limit swimming to designated and safer areas.
In response, Speaker Among revealed that Parliament will soon formulate regulations to guide how schools organize extracurricular activities involving physical risk.
Her remarks follow public outcry over the recent drowning of a Senior Six student, Kevin Nsamba, at Seeta High School. According to eyewitnesses, Nsamba drowned during a supervised swimming session, but no trained lifesavers were present to respond promptly.
Parents and education stakeholders have since questioned the school’s preparedness to manage potentially dangerous activities and called for urgent reforms.
In the same parliamentary session, Speaker Among turned her attention to the worsening road safety crisis. She condemned reckless driving and poor road usage as the leading causes of fatal accidents across the country.
Her comments came in the wake of a tragic crash in Hoima District earlier in the day, where 20 traders were killed in an accident along the Buliisa road.
“Traffic law enforcement must be strengthened,” she said. “We cannot continue losing Ugandans on the roads simply because drivers and passengers ignore safety measures, and those mandated to enforce the law look the other way.”
Speaker Among called for urgent government intervention in both sectors, noting that the lives of school children and ordinary Ugandans are being lost due to preventable causes.